Paranormal
by nycorrall
Summary: After an accidental slip from Paulina, Danny was roped into a date with the cheerleader. Romance begins to blossom between the unlikely pair, and each one is oblivious to the other's dangerous secret and the enemies closing in on them. Inspired by Hispanic Heritage Month.
1. Encounters

**A/N: Although I'm sure it's a little late, this story was written in honor of Hispanic Heritage month which, in case you didn't know, is from September 15-October 15.**

**Danny Phantom does not belong to me.**

Paulina

It was early morning and the sunlight was peering in from the window, illuminating the massive room of a dark-haired, clear-eyed beauty. Paulina Sanchez, a current junior in high school, had just finished applying some mascara to her dark lashes and was relishing in the mere _peacefulness _of the glorious morning. She instantly turned up the radio, forcing the nightmare out of her thoughts as she squealed with excitement, her favorite song instantly radiating from the black device.

She parted her lips and instantly began singing along to the lyrics as they wafted out of the speakers.

"'_Prometeme que no me vas a dejar sin tu amor.'_" Paulina took two steps to the right and swayed her hips as she danced along to the rhythmic beat of the music. "'_I'll give you my heart girl but you gotta promise...'_" **(1)**

She paused, a knock from somewhere downstairs startling her out of her momentary bliss. She instantly pushed the 'off' button in annoyance, reluctantly turning of the electronic contraption that provided her with entertainment and, instead, dashed out of the room and fled down the stairs.

She placed a hand on the door's golden-colored lever and swung it open, ready to chew out the idiot that interrupted her obliviousness to the world. To her astonishment, an older woman in her late fifties opened the door. She had thin, obviously dyed, dark hair that was beginning to show her silver strands, and an excited gleam that lit up her dark eyes. The woman beamed, revealing her wrinkles as she gazed down at Paulina.

"Abuela!** (2)**" Paulina laughed in ecstasy as she threw her arms around her only grandmother, warmth enveloping her as the older woman's hands feebly wrapped around the younger Hispanic girl.

The _abuela, _or '_Doña Angie' _as many others prefered to call her, pulled back from the teenager and gently brushed back a strand of the long, dark, wavy hair from the girl's face. "_Mi amor_**(3)**_, _It's so good to see you, I trust you've been behaving yourself?" She questioned in a mildly accented tone.

"Of course not, _Abue_." **(4)**

The grandmother chuckled and patted her head. "Well, I hope you'll have that behavior of yours cleaned up by the time you get to college." Her withered face suddenly darkened and a glower instantly wormed its way into her eyes. "We don't need another _puta _**(5) **in this family."

**(My apologies. I didn't mean to put so many footnotes/translations on just the first part of the story.)**

"Grandma..." Paulina began in a warning tone. "Dad is not a _puta_."

As if on cue, a large man appeared from behind the older woman, his large arms folded across his chest and an undisguised frown placed on his face. "Angie, feeding my daughter a bunch of lies now, are we?"

"_Feeding _her _lies? _Is that what you call it, _cabrón__? _**(6) **You left my daughter and you have the _audacity _to call me a _liar?_"

"_She _got rid of _me. _Good thing, too. Because _you _two are _exactly _alike. Stubborn, reckless, loud-mouthed. The only _difference _is that Yolanda was a _whore _and went and married someone _else._" His eyes hardened as he glared down at the older woman, his jaw clenching as she continued to jab at him.

"She may have married someone else but it's only because _you _were not a good husband. At least, she still sees her children now and again. All _you've _been doing is work, sleep, eat, and work again. _Maldito pendejo, tu no sabes lo que yo hice para-_" **(7)**

Paulina, by this point, had already snuck past her arguing relatives, knowing full well that her grandma was on the verge of throwing things again. The family animosity was growing old, stupid. She had been fearful of her parents even after they got divorced. They would yell, shout, curse, and throw things at each other. Her mother was particularly frightening. She didn't actually know many of her friends to have the same issues. Maria's parents, the Hernandezes, were kind caring and loving. Star's parents always talked out their arguments, from what she had been informed. The hatred between her two families had grown ridiculous, and she was actually _relieved _when her parents got separated.

She silently backed out of their circle of anger, jogged outside, and instantly flipped her phone open, dialing up her best friend.

Paulina hugged her pink sweater closer to her body. It was early October and the temperature was already beginning to drop down to the fifties. She was anticipating a pretty bad winter, which sucked because there was usually an influx of ghost activity during that time. Probably because spirits were usually drawn to cold places.

Cars rushed by and Paulina found herself frowning at the unusually large traffic that was associated with the weekend.

The ringing in her ears ceased and a voice instantly sprang up from the other end. "_Like, hello?_"

"Star! Hey, are you busy?"

"_Uh, no, actually, but I'm dying to do something,_" came the reply. Relief poured into Paulina's soul at the sound of her friend's voice.

"Good. Let's go to the mall, I'm _dying _to buy a pair of shoes."

_"'Kay! I'm actually out of town right now, but I'll be there in ten. I'll meet you there, alright?"_

"Alright." The Hispanic girl slammed her phone shut and stuffed it into her pocket as she turned her focus to the large, black bag that hung from her shoulder.

She pulled out a wallet from her purse and peered inside. She only had about seventy dollars (two twenties and three tens) but it didn't matter. As long as she kept her worries distracted and shopping certainly did the job.

She sighed and tucked the items back into her purse, deciding to take a quick shortcut. She cut across a few lawns and trotted down an empty sidewalk, silently avoiding the thought of her mother. She peered up from the ground, a familiar blur of black and white rushing past her. The speed at which the ghost was going and his accidental elbow bump knocked her down to the ground instantaneously. She winced as her hands connected with the ground, glowering when she glanced down at her scraped palms.

She shook her head and peered up to see the perpetrator lying on the floor, back leaning against the wall of a fence. His snowy white hair was completely disheveled and his glowing green eyes were lit with annoyance as he painfully rubbed at a rapidly forming bump on his head.

_Phantom._

_"¡Ay, puto! _Watch where you're going." She snapped in irritation as she rubbed her arm. She swallowed her pride and bit back her anger with much difficulty. Though the anger was still eminent in her eyes and her tone still snappish, she managed to conjure up some sort of sympathy. After all, this ghost _was _protecting the town, putting his afterlife in danger. And, she knew, for a fact, that spiritual entities, though they could not die, could very well cease to exist. And that was worst than death itself.

"Need help?" She extended a hand at the befuddled teenager and waited expectantly.

Phantom's gaze became bewildered but he finally found the words to speak, finally accepting her help as he rose to his feet. "Wha-"

A chorus of wails suddenly interrupted whatever it was that he was going to say; he instantly glanced over his shoulder, fear and paranoia lighting his eyes.

"I thought I lost them! Quick! Lend me your sweater!" He whispered, focusing his wild eyes back on her.

"What? I'm not giving you-"

"I'm desperate, I'll do anything." Phantom stared at her with absolute fear and franticness.

Paulina scowled but ultimately handed over her sweater, quickly slipping it off her body and handing it to the ghost. Phantom immediately thrust it on himself and focused his back on the street. An unusually large crowd of screaming Phan girls instantly dashed past them, wild gleams lighting each of their eyes as they hunted down their intended target.

"Walk. And try to act casual," he whispered.

She flashed him an angry look but promptly obeyed, unable to resist those strangely desperate eyes.

His guard dropped and visibly relaxed as the sound of screams disappeared.

"So," he began, glancing over his shoulder before looking back at her, "what'd I do? Ruin your car, freeze your clothes, destroy your magazines?"

"What? What're you talking about?" Paulina furrowed her brows and glanced at the ghost.

"Well, you're usually the one leading those crowds. Now you hate me all of a sudden. Did I ruin your life? Is that it? 'Cause whatever I did, it wasn't me. Or it was an accident. And, trust me, it wouldn't be the first time someone ended up hating me."

"I don't hate you, and you didn't do anything. But, you _are _annoying me." Paulina folded her arms across her chest. "First, you bump into me and _throw_ me on the floor, and then you take my best sweater. And, on top of that, I'm really not having a good day."

"So, does this mean you're still, err, _in love_ with me?" Phantom began sheepishly, shuddering at the words 'in love.' She correctly assumed he was thinking 'obsessed' as a replacement for 'in love.'

Paulina scoffed. "I believe the correct term is _infatuated_. I don't believe in love. And, before you go there, I was never really _obsessed_ with you either." She rolled her eyes. "I was using you. Or, I was using my obsession of you as an excuse for something."

Phantom furrowed his pure white brows. "Excuse for what?"

"None of your business." She snapped then sighed. "But, now, my excuse to chase you down is getting old and is not taking the same effect. Especially since my grandmother's..." Her voice trailed off. Whoops, she'd said too much.

"Your grandmother's...?" Phantom's voice trailed away, expecting an answer from the Latina.

Her thoughts wandered and she instantly found the perfect way to evade the question. "Why aren't you going intangible or flying away or going invisible or something? There's no need to walk around or even _run _from your Phan girls." Paulina tilted her head to the side and studied him with open curiosity. But there was no need. Especially since he immediately answered the question with an unexpected honesty.

"An enemy of mines has an invention that shortens out my powers for a couple hours. I may as well be human now." Phantom shrugged nonchalantly.

"Aren't you afraid I might tell someone or, better yet, actually hurt you myself?" Paulina's sass flared up yet again. The boy didn't seem to notice.

Phantom shook his head. "Well, first of all, I'm warning you now, I'm a fast runner. Second of all, I actually still have my fighting reflexes and _those _have nothing to do with my powers being gone. Third, I doubt you'll hurt me. No offense, but you seem kind of..." He paused, searching for the right words.

"Weak?" Paulina grimaced. She was a hell of a lot stronger than she looked.

"No... You actually seem like the kind of girl that could easily pummel me into a pulp. You just don't seem like the type of person to reveal me, I guess."

Phantom shrugged and Paulina's eyes narrowed. "Looks can be deceiving, you know."

"Oh, trust me. I know." Phantom chuckled. "I'm learning never to underestimate anyone." He paused and glanced over his shoulder. "Hey, do you know what time it is?"

Paulina sighed and fished her phone out of her pocket, briefly glancing at the numerical digits that were displayed on the screen. "12:48 pm."

"Shit. My powers came back on five minutes ago." He smiled and slipped off her jacket and handed it back to Paulina. "So, I guess you won't be chasing me anymore?"

"Nope." Paulina began walking away, not bothering to look back. From somewhere up ahead, she could've sworn she'd heard the words, "see you tomorrow!"

Paulina glanced up at the sky, seeing nothing.

'Interesting...' Paulina thought to herself.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

**A/N: I've provided a few translations in the footnotes, if you care to read them.**

**1) **"_Prometeme que no me vas a dejar sin tu amor (Translation: _Promise me that you won't leave me without your love,_), I'll give you my heart girl but you gotta promise..." -_'Promise' by Prince Royce and Usher

**2)** _Abuela-_grandma

**3)** _Mi amor -_my love

**4)** _Abue_ -short for grandma. "grams," if you will

**5)** _puta_- spanish cuss word, could be replaced by bitch in this sentence.

**6) **_Cabrón-_goat, also a bad word

**7) **_Maldito pendejo, tu no sabes lo que yo hice para- -_Damn asshole, you don't know what I've gone through to-


	2. Wounds

**A/N: Sorry for not updating sooner. Everything's just been completely hectic. In any case, this is a long chapter, early warning.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.**

Paulina placed the shopping bags on the floor and glanced up at the house, feeling hesitant as she unlocked the door and stepped inside. Her father's car had long since been gone and, instead, her grandmother's car had remained.

She sighed and shut the door behind her, tossing her bags into the room before making her way over to the grand kitchen. Her house was honestly rather pretty, if not extravagant. The entire house was neatly decorated with expensive sofas, large beds, and silky curtains. The same went for the kitchen. It was large and spacious with a multitude of shelves and a fairly large oven situated across from the backdoor. She was admittedly grateful for the open space since she herself was the only cook of the house. Their dining table, which was conveniently placed in the center of the kitchen, was made of glass and had small table mats all around (though she had no idea why since no one anyone ate there). Placed in the center of the round table was a vase with some lovely, plastic flowers in the center. Oddly enough, Paulina had entered to find the case floating a few feet up in the air. She sighed and tossed the keys onto the glass table, ignoring the resonating clang it made upon contact. A little girl of five years was sitting at the end of the table, staring at the hovering item with wide-eyed ecstasy. The toddler clapped her hands as her lovely brown eyes lit up with enthusiasm.

She squealed upon catching sight of the Latina. "Paully, Paully! Germa's making it fly!"

The elder smiled, chuckling ever so slightly. "Now, now, Estefanía, what did I say? It's not flying, it's _telequinesia._" She turned her withered smile to Paulina.In English it means-"

"Telekinesis. I know, grandma. I've been doing my studying, like you said." Paulina smiled as she leaned over the table.

"Oh? If you've been practicing so much, why don't you give it a try?" Her grandmother lowered her slightly trembling hand as the vase instantly floated back down to the table. Paulina smirked and raised a hand, palm facing the hourglass ceramic. She wrinkled her brow and concentrated, picturing the vase floating in her mind. No more than a second later, the vase floated off the table and flew high up, floating around the chandelier. She smirked and held it up there for a few moments before quickly lowering her hand and gently laying the item back on the table, returning it to its original position. Her little sister squealed with delight, simultaneously whining about wanting to do that.

"Not yet, _cariño. _You are not of age yet. But, your sister..." Her grandmother turned and narrowed her eyes at the Hispanic beauty. "Have you been practicing enough?" She snapped, her gaze suddenly vexatious as she glared at Paulina with a condescending glare.

"Sometimes_._" Paulina retorted. "I have a life too, you know. I'm not gonna spend _all _my time reading and writing and learning and studying a bunch of freaky mumbo jumbo." She flipped her hair and walked over to the drawers, rummaging through the cabinets for food.

In all honesty, that was not the entire truth. Paulina had been practicing _way more _than she needed to. Each book her grandmother had given her, she had spent hours studying and practicing. And she was rather proud for accomplishing so much in so little time. But, there was no way in hell she was going to let her grandmother know that.

"Careful now. I wouldn't want you to end up like your mother who stopped practicing and completely forgot how to use all her abilities." The grandmother shook her head. "Even your stupid father is right about that. My daughter is full of disappointment, and I don't want you ending up with some measly mortal either. You need to marry a warlock, the more powerful the better." The grandmother sniffed in distaste as she thought about Paulina's father.

"You know what, _Abue? _I might just end up with anyone _but _a warlock." The Hispanic teen slammed a plastic cup against the counter and trained her angry eyes on the older woman.

"Honey, you say that now but that nice José kid really likes you-"

"Jose's _weird._" Stephanie squeaked as she wrinkled her brow distastefully. Paulina smiled in return, thankful for the sister's comment.

"You are gonna end up just like your mother and your good-for-nothing _human_ father." The older lady spat the word 'human' like it was acid in her mouth.

"It's not like _you _care. I bet the only reason you're here is to make sure our 'special abilities' aren't lost. So it'll go down our family lineage." Paulina slammed the door shut and glared at her grandmother.

"That may be true, but it doesn't mean I don't care." Her grandmother stood up suddenly. For an old woman, that lady was pretty fast. And strong.

Paulina's eyes flared. "We didn't even meet you until last year, when our parents were divorced and you saw on opportunity to take us away from them." She restrained herself from approaching the table, forcing down some of the anger she's openly carried for the last couple years.

"Deny it all you want," the grandmother slammed her hand to her table and rose to her feet, "but you can't always hide what you are. A witch." The old woman's eyes lit up with anger. She paused and snatched up her purse, yanking the handle onto her shoulder. "Actually, you know what? I'm leaving." The grandmother threw her arms up in exasperation, grabbed her keys, and stormed out of the house without a second glance back. A brief memory of her mother storming out of the house flashed through Paulina's mind. She swallowed, ignoring the sudden melancholy and turned her focus to her sister.

Tears stung her eyes but she wrestled them back, reminding herself to be strong as she glanced at her sister's watery eyes. She swallowed and struggled to maintain her voice steady as she motioned towards the living room. "Come on, Stephanie. How about we go watch some cartoons?"

Stephanie's depressed eyes suddenly lit up with a twinge of hope. "Paully, can we go to the park instead?"

Paulina firmly shook her head. After the argument with her grandmother, Paulina really had no desire to go anywhere. She'd already spent nearly all of her money and the last thing she needed was to waist gas. "No, we're staying here and resting. We already went yesterday."

The little girl's face tugged down into a frown and her eyes widened with supplication. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaase?" She instantly tugged on Paulina's jeans as she flashed her the infamous puppy dog eyes.

The lovely Latina struggled to prevent her decision from wavering, glaring down at the girl in obvious annoyance. "No. And, nothing you say or do will make me change my mind."

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Paulina leaned back against the park bench and wearily rubbed her eyes. Darkness was approaching and the sun's light was beginning to disappear beneath the horizon. Now, she couldn't even stop by Lucy's Shop to buy some replacement lip-gloss because she'd spent her last three dollars on her little sister's favorite Coco ice cream bar.

Paulina bent down beside her and pulled out a napkin from her large Prada purse, wiping away at a smudge of chocolate on the toddler's face. "Come on, sweetie. We have to go home, it's getting dark."

"But, I wanna stay a little longer." Stephanie pouted like the little cherub she was.

"Honey, everyone's leaving. Including your little friend over there." Paulina pointed and watched as a mother dragged a wailing child away.

The five-year-old pouted and sulked but complied with her older sister's wishes. "Okay," she mumbled in response.

Paulina smiled and extended her arm, offering the little girl her hand. Stephanie accepted it, her tiny fingers lacing around Paulina's long slender ones.

The girl had only known her sister for a few months, but it certainly felt like a lifetime. When her mother had left their family to marry off another man, she dumped Paulina and her father with a little present. The older woman had dropped off Stephanie in front of their house during the summer, right after freshman year.

It only took a few months for the chubby-faced, dark-haired child to steal Paulina's heart. Now, here they were, three years later and walking to Paulina's newest car, leaving the park behind them. And, though she would scarcely admit it, Paulina didn't mind having to care for her sister one bit.

"Paully, who's that?" The little girl lifted a hand and directed her finger into the distance, pointing at someone who had stumbled into the distance. Paulina immediately recognized the teenager as someone from school.

It was a boy, slightly hunched over and gripping a spot on his chest, wincing painfully.

"_Estefanía, quedese en el auto y no se me mueva. _No excuses_._" Paulina nudged the girl into the direction of the car, hoping she'd obey her command and, for once, stay in the car.

Paulina snuck a quick glance backwards, watching as the small girl opened the door of the car. It was already dark and Paulina was terrified of something happening to her pesky relative.

"What the hell are you doing creeping around in the park when it's dark." Paulina snapped, her eyes narrowing as she glared down at him.

"Nice to know you're still as nice as ever." Fenton replied as he leaned against the wall. Paulina could only figure he was here for some kind of drug deal or something. Good to know this town wasn't as safe as she thought.

"Paully, he's hurt." A voice whispered from behind her. Paulina glanced down at her little sister and her eyes widened. "I thought I told you to stay in the car?"

"You did." She replied simply. "Paully, _al niño le duele._"

Paulina glanced up and followed her sister's line of gaze. She noticed that the part of his chest that Danny was gripping was indeed stained with blood, his tattered shirt showing signs of a blossoming bruise.

"Oh my god, Danny!" Paulina rushed over to him, instantly hovering but never touching him. "What happened?"

"I tripped." He replied automatically—his response anything but plausible.

"And landed on _just_ that spot on your chest, getting blood all over your shirt? Yeah, right. I'm not stupid, you know." She briefly met his icy blue eyes and he met hers. "Come on, I'll give you a ride to the hospital."

"No. I can't go to the hospital." He cleared his throat. "I mean, the nearest one is closed except for the ER. And, _this _is not ER-worthy."

"Well, then, I'll take you to my house." Paulina paused. "I can bandage you up right away before you pass out from blood loss."

"Are you sure your father won't mind?" Danny began hesitantly. "He seems kind of..."

"Uptight? He is." Paulina confirmed with a nod. "Especially around boys."

"But, he's not home." Stephanie piped up from behind the young Latina.

"And who might _you _be?" Danny bent down trying and failing to hide the expression of pain that flickered through his eyes.

"Stephanie," the girl gushed, a wide smile stretching out across her face.

"Well, Stephanie, I guess I'll be hanging out at your house today, is that alright?"

Estefanía nodded and beamed as he extended his hand. She took it and shook it violently. Danny laughed, "Hey, you're pretty strong for a little one." He feigned mild pain as he rubbed his hand.

"Come on." Paulina cut in briskly, ignoring the pout the little girl flashed at them. "We'll go now. Get in the car, Steph. We're leaving."

The girl immediately ran towards the open door with sudden excitement lighting her eyes, her black curls bouncing as she hopped into the car. Paulina peered at Danny from the corner of her eye, maintaining a guarded yet annoyed expression. 'Great, now I'm stuck helping out someone in some sort of gang-related problems.'

Paulina tossed her hair over her shoulder and climbed into the front seat of the car, motioning for Danny to do the same. He did, though with much difficulty, she noted.

Her house was a mere ten minutes away but sitting with her fellow classmate and former victim was awkward. Two minutes felt like two hours, so—to kill time—she pushed the 'on' button, activating her car's radio. Spanish advertisements instantly wafted out of the speakers, causing her to bite her lip.

"Sorry, I usually listen to this station." She moved her hand to change the channel but Danny's hand blocked her own. A familiar, slow song instantly started and Paulina's eyes widened in surprise.

"It's fine. This is a catchy song, actually." He relaxed against his seat and eyed the musical device. "Do you know what song it is?"

Paulina placed her hand back on the wheels and let her gaze flicker to Danny. He seemed to be genuinely intrigued by the music. "Um, yeah. It's..._Dile Al Amor _by _Aventura._" Paulina pressed her lips together as Danny listened intently, though she was certain he wouldn't understand it.

"What's it say?" He questioned after the group of singers hit the chorus.

"It's just, uh, mentioning Cupid. And...well, asking to keep love out of his life because he doesn't want to get hurt anymore." Paulina trained her focus back on the road.

"Is it your favorite?" He prodded. She shrugged in response, saying nothing.

It was actually one of her top three favorite songs, but she refrained from saying so.

"Cool." Danny nodded and leaned his head back as he continued listening to the slow beat of the song.

Paulina nodded and resumed silence throughout the remainder of the ride. The only other song that came up was one she'd never really liked nor paid attention to.

They eventually pulled over into her large driveway and climbed out of the car. Paulina instantly moved to the back and helped her sister out of the seat. The little girl squealed in response and wrapped her small arms around the teenager's slender neck.

Danny smiled slightly at the sight of the two of them and Paulina glared daggers at him. He didn't seem to notice her obvious irritation, which was so blatantly caused his stupidly grinning face. Still smiling, he peered around her house and whistled. For some reason, his eyes were lit up with curiosity instead of awe, which was her 'friends'' usual reaction to the grand house. "You have a...pretty big house."

The interior of Paulina's home did, in fact, look larger than it appeared outside. The ceiling rose several feet high above their heads and beyond that lay her room. The entrance of her not-so-humble abode led to a large, neat room that connected four doorways, one dimly lit hall, and an extravagant stairway. Each of the doors led either to the kitchen and its dining area, the living room, the relaxation room, or the bathrooms. The staircase obviously led to the upstairs, which consisted of five rooms (two of which were empty) and three bathrooms. The hallway led to two guest rooms and the backdoor, which made way to her indoor pool.

To say her house was big was an understatement. "I usually get a different reaction." Paulina commented as she glanced around her own home not for the first time.

"Well, I've seen bigger." Danny shrugged, unimpressed as his eyes slid away from the largeness of the home and focused on the decor. He glanced over his shoulder, peering at a plastic flower placed in a golden vase. He ran a hand over the smooth, shiny table that held up the fake décor. The Latina herself had consistently thought about ridding herself of the faux plant and often meditated on replacing it with something _real, _but she couldn't find the point in doing so.

"You say you've seen bigger?" Paulina questioned, hoping to find out whose home he could possibly have seen that was bigger than her own. Instead of an explanation, she received a simple nod. But she didn't press him. There was absolutely no need to know whose house outranked her own, not that she really cared.

"Well," she sighed, drawing his eyes to meet her own. She was suddenly struck by the piercing blueness of his icy orbs. "I-I-" She inhaled and released a breath, regaining composure. "The bathroom's this way." With a brief wave of her hand, she motioned for him to follow her to the bathroom, not minding in the least that the little girl was still clinging to her designer jeans and most likely wrinkling them too.

She remained silent, wondering what Fenton had been up to. Probably nothing good, judging by the way he constantly limped. There was a multitude of thoughts floating around her head, creating possibilities on what the teen had been up to. Lately, he'd been skipping school, evading classes, shirking off his responsibilities, and looking rather sickly or tired oftentimes. He was something she tended to avoid lately as opposed to picking on him. Her father had warned her about kids like these, always trouble and never amounting to much. She didn't share her father's view but she still avoided that boy the same way one would avoid a plagued outcast.

She snuck a glance at him and found his eyes once again. Their gazes locked for the briefest of moments before she finally broke the stare-down, ushering him into the bathroom.

She spun around and placed a hand on her hips, ordering the little sister to go to her room. There was much reluctance and whining from the small person before she angrily stomped upstairs.

"She doesn't like going to bed, does she?" Danny chuckled. The raven-haired teen had taken a seat on top of the toilet's lid. His hand was no longer on his rib but she noticed he was still hunched slightly to the left. He sat there, patiently waiting for her next instructions. She ignored him and stepped in front of their plain, rectangular mirror. She gripped the side and opened the hidden compartment, revealing a large shelf that contained medical kits and medicine. She rummaged through its contents and pulled out some pain medicine and gauze.

"Take off your shirt." She ordered, turning to face the eerily silent teenager.

He hesitated but instantly complied at the sight of her authorative expression. The Latina bent down and saw a few faded scars that seemed impossibly old.

"_Dios __mío__,_" **(1)** she breathed. She was completely astounded by the sight of his bare chest and not because of the faded scars dispersed across his porcelain skin. She was completely awe-struck by his unbelievably lean and nicely toned muscles, all of which completely contradicted everyone else's belief of him being scrawny. She forced herself to look at his wound and frowned; it was a lot smaller than she had anticipated. Half of his shirt was completely coated with dried blood that was smeared with an equal amount of dark green liquid. This observation made her question his whereabouts. She bit her lip and quieted the inquiries floating around in her mind, occupying herself with disinfecting the wound. She wrapped the gauze and neatly tied it around his waist, careful not to let her fingers brush his exposed and rather breathtaking chest.

"So," he began as she put up the items, "aren't you gonna ask me what happened?"

Paulina closed the mirror and trained her eyes to the boy's body, making sure the gauze wrap was secure. "Well, if I asked, then that would mean I actually care. You're done, you can leave." She replied curtly. She puckered her lips and hardened her gaze. "I'll get you a clean shirt before you go and you may wanna get rid of this one."

Paulina slipped out of the bathroom and swiftly made her way to the entrance of the house, opening the door as he quickly trailed after her. She flashed him an expression that clearly said '_leave._'

"Okay," he rubbed the back of his neck as he stood there, awkwardly biting his bottom lip. "I just wanna say thanks-"

"You're welcome," Paulina interrupted. And tapped her fingers against the golden handle, impatience lighting her eyes.

"I-I-I'm gonna go." Danny slowly began to exit then paused and turned to face her. Paulina grit her teeth in irritation. '_What does he want now?_'

"Thank you. Really. I appreciate what you did, so…yeah. Thanks." He flashed her a small, genuine smile and his eyes twinkled with gratitude. Paulina blinked completely dumbfounded and watched in stunned silence as the boy trotted down the steps and towards the street. Paulina inwardly groaned, knowing full well she was going to regret her following actions.

"Wait!" She called out, fishing her car keys out of her jean's pocket. She pressed the button to unlock the vehicle and placed her hands on he hips. The boy turned around, slightly dumbfounded. "I'll...give you a ride home." Paulina swallowed hard.

"No, Paulina, you really don't have to. I'm okay walking-"

"Just get inside and wait there. I'm gonna go get Stephanie." No sooner had the words left her mouth, the aforementioned toddler streaked across the parking lot, squealing with laughter.

Danny's eyes followed her and he flashed Paulina an amused smile. She sighed and reluctantly made her way over to the 2012 sleek, black Chrysler.

**A/N: Well, I'll try to update soon. Anyways, review please?**


	3. Behaviors

**A/N: Goodness gracious! I've got three papers, and six study guides due next week. **

**Sorry about the delay, readers. College is not easy.**

**I don't own Danny Phantom.**

After the drop off, Paulina came home to find her father standing in the front of the door, arms folded over his chest and a disapproving frown on her face.

Paulina recollected the past few hours, debating on what she should offer as an explanation for staying out late.

Stephanie had fallen asleep on that Fenton boy during the little joy ride back to FentonWorks. The chubby-faced girl had easily convinced him to sit in the back with her. Steph, as Danny had nicknamed her, chatted happily for all of five minutes before she slumped against his shoulder, instantly submerging into peaceful sleep. Fortunately, Danny didn't seem to mind. Not even when Paulina had to pry the slumbering girl off of him, which was a difficult task. Especially considering the girl was practically glued to the teenager, her small arms refusing to release Fenton's neck.

And now here Stephanie was with her little arms wrapped around Paulina and her face nuzzled against the teenager's dark hair as the aqua-eyed girl glared up at her parent.

Paulina's decision not to tell her father about Daniel was only rational.

Her father instantly took the youngest sister from Paulina's arms and frowned at her as she quietly shut the door. "Where have you been, Paulina? You do realize it's _ten. _You're curfew was an hour ago."

Paulina frowned and walked around him to place her hoodie into the nearest coat closet. "_Papi, _calm down."

She whirled around to face her furious father. "_I will not calm down._" He hissed angrily. "You didn't let me know where you were going!"

Paulina huffed and folded her arms across her chest. "Well, in case you hadn't noticed, you left your phone at home," she snapped. "Besides, it's not like you even answer me when you're working."

"Well, you can't be hanging around that Dash kid anymore. You know I _forbade _you from seeing him after nine."

Paulina's grandmother hobbled out from the kitchen, her icy glare focused on Paulina's father. For once, Paulina was grateful to see the bitter old woman. "_Ay, Carlos. __Cálmate__ hombre. _There you go again making assumptions like you always do. Did you _ask _her where she's been? What she was doing? You don't even know where this girl was." The grandmother turned to Paulina and her gaze softened. "Where were you?"

"A friend called and I gave them a ride home. Stephanie fell asleep on the way back, you should go put her up before we all start yelling and end up waking her up."

The father instantly relaxed but remained solemn and irritated. "Good night." He glared at the two females before turning and stomping up the stairs.

"Thanks for the save," Paulina replied in a clipped tone.

"Anytime," her grandmother winked and the Latina's eyes lit up with hope that all their former disagreements towards each other had evaporated.

"So," the grandmother began, falling into step with Paulina as she made her way towards the stairs. "Your cousin _Nirmita_ is having her _Quinceañera_ this coming Friday. And I know you broke up with that oaf of a Dash, so...I set you up with José. I heard he's been practicing his spells and-"

"No," Paulina stopped and turned to face her grandmother abruptly, placing a hand on the rails. "I'm not going with José."

"_Amor, _give him a chance! You may get to know him better, he can be nice-"

"Grandma, I gave him three chances. _Three_. He's rude, he's a jerk, and he's not even that good-looking." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and, with a finality that made her grandmother growl, stated, "I'm not going with him."

"Well, I already told him you broke up with that imbecile jock of yours and we all know you're going alone. So, listen to me when I say-"

"I already have a date!" Paulina hissed, her eyes flaring. She struggled to keep her voice low; her grandma didn't.

"You're lying," she angrily shouted, "I know all your boy friends have dates and without Dash you're all alone!"

"It's not someone _you_ know_._" Paulina cried out.

"Who is it then?" Her grandmother shouted as she thrust her arms up into the air.

"Danny Fenton!" Paulina hurled the words at her grandmother, her voice shrill with anger. The older woman went rigid with shock and Paulina took the opportunity to flee. She raced up the stairs and tossed herself onto the bed.

Anger was boiling up inside her, the kind of anger that was so intense she was completely at a loss of how to release it. She squeezed her hands in an attempt to relieve herself with the techniques her former therapist had shown her. Energy crackled around her and a small lamplight shattered spontaneously. She yelped and scrambled into a sitting position, grasping her pillow and squeezing it against her chest.

The anger drained and she was instantly left with a resigned feeling as she blankly stared at the wall in front of her. She was suddenly swallowed by the darkness, the only visible light provided by a nearby streetlamp that peered in through her open window. A cool breeze drifted into her room, tousling up her pink curtains and her dark hair.

"_What have I done?_"

She sighed and stretched herself across the bed, lying in a facedown position as she rested her chin on the soft pillow. She couldn't shake the feel of Danny's eyes out of her thoughts.

A wise man had once said "the eyes are the windows of the soul." Something she whole-heartedly believed in. The head cheerleader had always had an affinity with getting an idea of someone's character by looking directly into their eyes, which is why she usually avoided looking at this specific feature in others. It was the reason she broke up with Dash. The boy had looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm not cheating on you." She had immediately broken their relationship the same way he broke her heart. It was also how she came to genuinely love Valerie and Star. She could see the honesty in their eyes when they talked to her. There were no lies between them. Paulina knew Valerie had been practicing karate and self-defense and that Star was really a genius street-wise, just as they knew her secret passion for books. Of course, that didn't mean she knew everything about them. Everyone was entitled to their own privacy. And, so far, they rarely lied to her.

Of course, everyone was entitled to their own secrets and Paulina was completely certain they each hid things from her just as she did them. But (hopefully) she would soon be able to reveal to them her greatest secret. Feeling a tug at her heart, Paulina bent over the edge of her bed and pulled out a leather book from beneath the mattress. The title was inscribed in a fanciful, cursive font that was encompassed by designs. "_Vade Mecum_ _of Spells and Crafts_."

To anyone else, it would've resembled a regular, ordinary book—lucky for Paulina because it blended easily with her collection of novels that were placed on her shelf. Paulina exhaled and opened the book, flipping through the pages until her eyes fell on the ancient Latin scripture.

She stopped suddenly and her finger curled around a single page. She squinted and leaned her head forward, eyes lighting up curiously as she caught sight of the title of the page.

_Spiritual Entities._

**Author's Note:**

As of right now, I'm going to be integrating more of the Hispanic culture into this story, for obvious reasons. (Hispanic Heritage Month).

I'm also gonna be including some links to YouTube for Latin dancing or some Spanish songs, if you care to check it out.

And—heck!—I might even include a recipe for real homemade tacos or something else.

And I'm not talking Taco Bell stuff. That ain't real Spanish food, although those tacos are admittedly delicious.

So, what do you think? Leave your answer in the reviews. ;)

_Promise—Prince Royce feat Usher:_ (:/) w w .com (/) watch?v=Y3XyWhrZnqE

Paulina sings this song in the first chapter. It's half in Spanish, half in English, so don't worry about not being able to understand the song.


	4. Decisions

Chapter 4 Paully

**Dot.**

**Slash (/)**

**Dash (-)**

**All will be revealed in the end of the chapter.**

The following day, Paulina aroused in a lousy mood. She got up earlier than usual in a succeeded attempt at avoiding her grandmother and father. She prepared Stephanie's breakfast, dropped her sister off at _Peter Pan School (Pre-K - 1st grade)_, and then drove herself to school.

Paulina spun the wheel to the left, fidgeting anxiously as Casper High appeared in the distance.

When she had seen Fenton at the park, she had no intentions of speaking to him during school. In fact, she had been silently plotting ways to avoid him and even went so far as to touch on the thought of looking up Evasion Spells as she watched him enter his house.

But her 'avoid Danny at all costs' plan had exploded in her face when she told her mother's mother that he would be her date for the _Quinces_ party.

She pulled into a spot nearest to the front doors and shut down her car. She bit her lip and gazed up at the school with sudden anxiety. After a few moments, she forced herself out of the car. She paused to smooth out her wrinkled, questionably short skirt and adjust the straps of her book bag before strolling towards her doom. Her slender hands extended and she found herself cursing inwardly upon hesitation.

The girl scowled as she barged into the all-too familiar building and headed over to the cafeteria. As expected, there was a mass of children already socializing at the high school, though it was nowhere near time for class to start.

The proud Latina raised her head high and forced a nonchalant look to her face as she glided down the halls.

Paulina met Star at their table and wasted no time in explaining the story of the previous day. Sure, it would've been nicer to be able to talk to Valerie, too, but the African American girl was on a temporary trip with her father.

After the head cheerleader spilled out all of the occurrences and cautiously leaving out the part about Danny's injuries, a smile crept onto Star's face. "So, you needa ask Fenton out, right?"

"I don't want to," Paulina admitted with a groan, "but I have to."

The perky blond scoffed. "Right. And you don't think—quote, unquote—that he had an 'oh-so perfect god-like body.'" Star enunciated each quoted word exaggeratedly. "Well, now's your chance." Star grinned, a malicious gleam lighting her eyes as she extended her polished finger and pointed at a spot beyond Paulina. The Hispanic teen immediately straightened up and followed her friend's line of vision only to find that, to her shock, Fenton was sitting with his own friends a mere two tables away from her.

Her mouth fell open at what she couldn't decipher as a lucky or unlucky moment. She snapped her jaws shut immediately and flashed an annoyingly smug Star a weary gaze.

"Wish me luck," she muttered before gathering as much confidence as she could muster up and sauntering over to the dreaded table. The few students that noticed the head cheerleader suddenly fell silent as they watched her sit down at the table. A few queer words wafted through her ear and she held her breath the instant she recognized Danny's voice.

"...caught them all before school started. Isn't that great? I've got the Thermos in my locker. Now all I need is to make sure they stay in there-"

"Danny," Paulina interrupted as she slid into the empty seat beside him. She winced when he snapped his gaze to her, shock and surprise lighting his eyes. Tucker stared at her with incredulous disbelief and Sam glared daggers at her, not bothering to hide the suspicion from her stunning amethyst eyes.

"P-Paulina?" Danny finally stuttered out, recovering from his initial astonishment. His gaze eventually softened but morphed into mild confusion.

"Look," Paulina straightforwardly began, "something sort of came up, and...I was wondering if you'd go to a party with me?"

Danny glanced around apprehensively, most likely wondering if this was another trick. "No thanks, I've...had my fair share of parties."

Paulina sighed, already having anticipated his denial. After all, from what she knew, he never had much luck in parties. He was either picked on, made fun of, or just completely ignored. It was no wonder the boy never showed up, even when Valerie went out of her way to invite the teen.

"It's _not_ that kind of a party. No one from school is gonna be there. It's…with my family."

His eyes widened and, this time, he appeared incredulous, shocked, and completely befuddled at her words. "What-"

"Look, like I said something happened, I'll explain everything later. And..." she sighed and bit her lip, knowing full well she would live to regret her choice of words. "I promise, I'll do anything." She paused, reconsidered her words, and added, "As long as it's not something _stupid."_

"Alright." Danny immediately replied, his gaze skeptical but definite.

"W-what?" Paulina blinked. It was _her _turn to be dumbfounded. She hadn't at all expected such a quick answer. Was he already thinking about how she would repay him?

"I'll help. I'm sure you wouldn't have asked me straight up if it wasn't important." He shrugged. "Besides, you—you know," he dropped his voice briefly so that he spoke in low tones, "you _did_ help me with my—the…incident last night. I owed you one." His voice rose to a normal tone. "So, I'll help. Consider it a…" He paused and mulled over his words. "…compensation."

"Really? That's great!" Paulina smiled, relieved to have such a large weight lifted off her shoulder. "Like I said, I'll tell you about it later. Meet me after school at the Nasty Burger, then we can talk."

She leaped off the table, knowing full well that Sam was immediately going to start jabbering Danny about him accompanying the Latina to the birthday party. Paulina hoped for all intents and purposes that the damned Goth wouldn't change Danny's mind.

"Lemme guess," Star began, peering up at Paulina's befuddled frown. "He said no."

"Actually, he said yes." Paulina replied, slightly dazed as she sat down across from her best friend.

"Oh," Star licked her spoon and focused on the dark-skinned teenager. "Then why do you look so confused?"

"Because...well, he said no but then he said yes after I told him it was for my family. I didn't think he'd—I dunno—agree so quickly." Paulina shrugged and rested her cheek on her fist. "He said it's for compensation, though.'"

"Right. He lets you take him to a party just because you gave him a ride? Well, I can't give you much advice since I don't like him." Star bluntly stated. "He's weird and just...I guess I get this creepy vibe off him. Like he's not normal. Anyways, when Valerie started to go out with him, she'd tell me that he was a nice guy and all that junk. So, if Valerie was here, she'd probably say he's helping because he feels sympathetic or just pities you." She paused, mulled over her words, and nodded for emphasis. "Yeah, I think that's what she'd say."

"Ugh, I don't need anyone's pity." Paulina wrinkled her nose. "But I am desperate." She sighed, feeling much like one of those animals she'd seen in Guatemala—like a dog scavenging for leftovers in a trashcan.

Paulina had never explicitly asked anyone for anything (except her dad) but…

"Wel," her friend chirped, "I get the feeling he's not expecting anything in return. Just be grateful that Fenton kid actually agreed to help. And not just because he's some Fan boy or because he wants your popularity." Star flipped her hair and rose to her feet at the sound of their school bell.

Pauline frowned and pulled her gaze to the cafeteria doors. This was gonna be a long week.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

"Okay," Danny began reluctantly as he peered around the house. Paulina had met up with the boy at his house. His parents were downstairs, working on an invention and his sister was out studying with a few friends. The absence of ¾ths of the Fentons made the house seem eerily quiet and rather normal.

Strange because, no more than a few minutes ago, Danny had sent her a cryptic text. It had read, "Change plans. Mrylk hooouse."

She figured out that he'd wanted the meeting to happen at his house, so she dialed him and asked if he wanted her to stop by NastyBurger to get something to eat. He agreed, grunted, promised to pay her back, and immediately hung up on her, cutting her off midsentence.

The Latina huffed and decided that, after this, she'd never try to be nice to Fenton again.

But, having already promised food, she stopped by the teenagers' favorite hang out place and ordered the pair a few meals after giving Danny a brief phone call.

She sighed and stared at him as he sat down across from her. When Danny had answered the door, he was panting, almost as if he'd been working out or running. He had a small bruise that was barely visible under his right eye and some sort of dark green liquid smeared on the back of his t-shirt.

She immediately assumed it was dried paint, but that wouldn't explain his flushed cheeks, disheveled hair, or fading bruise.

Paulina drew her eyes away from the peculiarities and focused solely on unwrapping her Nasty Burger.

"So," Danny began, interrupting the awkward silence. "Wanna tell me what this is about?"

Paulina hesitated and glanced down at her food. "Well, I, uh...look." She forced herself to raise her eyes and meet his gaze, struggling to block out her emotion-sensing ability. "My grandmother knows Dash and I are over. And ever since she found out, she's been trying to set me up with this guy named José and he's a real jackass."

"And what does this have to do with me and your family's party?" He questioned, his mesmerizing eyes clouding over with innocent confusion and attentiveness. He took a bite of his burger and trained all of his attention on her.

"Right, well, my cousin is having a Quinces. Err, a Quinceañera. It's a really big deal in my family and everyone has to go. My _abuela _saw this as an opportunity to set me with the _puto _I told you about. And, I sort of let it slip that you were my date for that night."

Danny sucked in a breath, coughed until his face turned red, and swallowed a sip of water. He then proceeded to drop the remaining bit of his burger onto the table. "What? Why me?"

Paulina sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Look, Danny, my grandma's met all of my guy friends and she knows this town pretty well. The only person she hasn't met is you, Tucker, Ned, Weldon, and Kwan. Your name was the first one to pop into my head. And, if I go to that party alone, José will not, under any circumstances leave me alone. That's why I accidentally had to invite you."

Danny swallowed and nodded, a thoughtful look creeping up his rather cute face. "Okay, so you just want me to show up, right? Stay with you?"

"For the most part. But, my cousins can be...real jerks. They like to pick on people a lot and they'll find any excuse to embarrass me _and _you. So, in order to stop that from happening, I'm gonna need to show you how to _dance._"

"Dance?" Danny's eyes widened to the size of dish plates. "Paulina, I've—I've never...danced before. And, even when I'm _not _dancing, I can be a real klutz. I- I don't think-"

Paulina raised a hand. "I'm gonna teach you. I've already thought about everything, and it's okay if you wanna back out now, but..." she flashed him the slightest pleading look. "You're sort of my last hope."

"I'm usually _everyone's _last hope," he mumbled to himself. He turned and focused solely on her, an unfamiliar look of determination radiating from his eyes. "I'll help."

"Really?" Paulina squealed and clapped her hands. "That's great! Knowing my cousin, there's gonna be about four types of dances: trival, cumbia, merengue, and bachata. Maybe some salsa but not so much. I'm not gonna be here Tuesday because my cousin and I are going shopping, and Thursday I'm gonna drop Stephanie off at my mother's house, so those days you'll have to practice with another friend of mines. We'll start practicing tomorrow, 'kay? I'll meet you then."

Danny flashed her a small smile when suddenly he shivered and a mist escaped his parted lips. Too distracted to notice, Paulina glanced at her watch and grabbed her purse. "I gotta go, okay? Tomorrow at five, be ready."

Paulina stashed her burger back into its bag, flashed him a smile and instantly fled the house, a gleeful smile planted on her face as she practically skipped all the way home.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Danny

"_She wants you to _dance?" Sam's screeching voice vibrated into Danny's ear, causing him to wince in pain.

Another person's dramatic laughter suddenly shot out from the small device. It seemed like his two friends were bent on destroying his eardrums. The hybrid ducked and flew higher into the air, trying and failing to disorient the ghost that was right by his spectral tail. "_Danny? Dancing? That's _classic! _Since when have _you _ever danced?_"

"Gee, thanks for the pep talk guys," he grunted as an ecto shot blasted at his rib, sending him spiraling a few feet away from his two enemies.

"_I'm sorry,_ _Danny, but I'm giving it to you straight. Paulina's a shallow witch. She probably only invited you for her own selfish reasons. I swear, I wanna strangle that bitch._"

"_I say go for it,_" Tucker opposed. "_I mean, she's hot. This may be your only chance to impress her._" He paused. "_If you pull it off._"

"Hold on guys." Danny spun mid air and felt a cool sensation escape his core and travel through his hands as an ice blast targeted one of his attackers. The adversary froze instantly and Danny immediately trapped the ghost into his Thermos before charging after his other opponent. "I'm _only _going to help her out. She already told me why she wants me to go. It's nothing _romantic_ and even if something does go horribly wrong, you know perfectly well that I can _easily _sneak out of that place."

Danny's eyes widened as he caught sight of another spectral blob escaping southeast.

Tucker's voice resonated from the Phone; Danny could almost hear the smirk on his best friend's face. "_Riiight. _Nothing _romantic about Latin dancing._"

"_Tucker, don't encourage him,_" the female Goth hissed.

Danny made a few loops in the air before turning abruptly and activating the Fenton Thermos. Caught off guard, the ghost wailed in what was a combination of fear, horror, and anger as he was sucked into the small container.

"Got 'im." Danny smirked as he slowly descended down to the Earth until finally he was finally hovering by Tucker.

The techno-geek friend was standing by a street lamp a couple blocks away from the NastyBurger, casually glancing up at his friend. "Took you long enough," Tucker waved his PDA in the air. "You're schedule says you've gotta go finish up cleaning the lab. I'd help but, you know, I haven't eaten in days and this carnivore isn't waiting another minute."

"_You're heartless, Tucker."_ Sam snapped from the other end of the Phone.

_"You're _calling_ me,_ heartless? Are you kidding?" Tucker pressed a finger on the green, bluetooth-like device, opening his mouth to make some sort of snarky reply, but Sam beat him to the punch.

_"Do you have any idea how many innocent animals are tortu-_"

"Guys!" Danny interrupted, zeroing his gaze on an increasingly annoyed Tucker. "How about you get yourself a burger?" Danny offered, pulling some change from the pocket of his hazmat suit.

"Fine." Tucker harrumphed, plucked the Fenton Phones out of his ear, turned, and walked away.

"_Is he gone?_" Sam's voice echoed from the earphones, sighed with relief when the hybrid confirmed Tucker's absence. "_Good, I told your parents that you and Tucker were out at the library and you're on your way back while Tucker gets food?_"

"Got it. I'll be there in ten." Danny hesitated and peered over his shoulder, shivering slightly. His eyes darted around the area briefly before he took flight, brushing off the feeling that someone had been watching.

Around the corner of a nearby store, a pair of glittering eyes widened in surprise as they processed this new information. Perhaps, the Ghost Boy's friends could be used as weaknesses.

**A/N:**

**Okay! Here is a little treat for you all! A taste of Latin dancing. It's my favorite dance and it's called **_**Cumbia**_**.**

**It will also be mentioned in the next chapter, so if you want to know what it is, here's the link.**

**It's a group of people doing a simple line dance. ;D Enjoy.**

YouTube website: YouTube dot com slash watch?v=A4-8McI-e_4&feature=fvst


	5. Captured

**A/N: I own neither Danny Phantom nor Twitter.**

**I mean, I own an account but I don't **_**own **_**own Twitter.**

**Besides, the first and last time I used it was about a year ago.**

Paulina had a plan, but she wasn't sure how this would work. She had an advantage: Amity Park was the most haunted city in America.

She deducted that it wouldn't be too difficult complete the task at hand.

But it was.

She sighed and glanced up from her cell phone.

This was the third reported ghost sighting all day. The day was scorching hot, her hair—after hours of ironing it—was once again curling from the humidity, sweat drenched her favorite shirt, and her feet were getting blisters from eight hours of strolling across town, searching for supposed ghost sightings.

These updates, she decided, weren't reliable. Granted they were from twitter and Facebook accounts…but still.

She figured at least _one of them _could've been true. Who knew Amity had so many false sightings and/or liars? First, someone claimed to have seen a ghost in a hotel, then someone tweeted that a skeleton ghost was living in the school's Janitor room.

A ghost in the park, a spirit on a roof, a…_vampire in the sewers?_

Paulina groaned as she leaned against the wall of a building, weariness overwhelming her. She grit her teeth and forced herself to continue walking, mustering up some of the useful determination she frequently relied on.

The last tweet she'd read seemed credible.

"**Brock ** B_Worker

_This heat wave is really getting on my last nerve. I swear on my mother's life I just saw a little round, blue person in overalls hanging out by the shipping boxes. Stupid hallucinations. Oh, well. It's closing time._"

The tweet had come from a friend's distant cousin's brother who was working at the farthest outskirts of town. Lucky for her, it was on the road by her house.

She forced her cantankerous foot to slip away from civilization and towards a familiar warehouse.

…

The building was hideous, and the exterior was no better than the interior. The brick walls were faded, the tiled roof was smeared with grime, and some of the tinted windows were cracked.

The large warehouse trapped in the already terrible heat, which Paulina found extremely suffocating. The place reeked of wood and paint and sweat.

The Latina scrunched her nose and wondered how anyone could work in these conditions. Ignoring her obvious discomfort, she marched forward.

Sneaking through the back was the easy part, now she had to hunt down the ghost.

There were no signs of any movement and, after a thorough scan of the building, Paulina was about ready to give up for the time being.

One the way out, she paused at the sight of boxes.

A bunch of them were scattered around the area, which was strange since the rest of the place seemed pretty orderly. She immediately assumed that either the movers were careless or someone or some_thing_ had thrown them_. _Paulina allowed a glimmer of hope to surface as she pressed forward towards the boxes. The temperature was slightly cooler here, much to her relief, and Paulina presumed that that was a good sign.

She walked around the boxes for a bit until reaching a spot where the temperature was just perfect in comparison to the rest of the building.

She bent down and found a small, barely glowing piece of cloth.

The Latina bit her lip to keep from squealing with excitement as she pulled out a small plastic bag from her purse, tucking away the thick, blue clout of silk.

She had finally procured the item.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Paulina bent down and placed the piece in front of her. She wasn't sure why, but she was becoming consumed with thoughts ghosts. Maybe it's because they haunted her city, maybe because she had recently run into the Ghost Boy, or maybe she simply wanted to satisfy her curiosity and learn about other supernatural entities such as herself.

In any case, she didn't need to know the reason. All she needed was to satisfy her increasing desire to learn more about them.

She wasn't sure if this would work but she wanted to try anyways. Most times, if a ghost was summoned, they wouldn't reveal themselves unless they or the witch was powerful enough to see them.

The pentagram was drawn, the candles placed on each point were lit, and the cloth was placed in the circle.

She stepped out of her hand-made symbol, dusting off the remaining bit of chalk in her hands as she picked up the book.

Her lips moved, and Latin words were released from the pit of her soul.

_Exaudi me nunc_

_meam audient clamoribus_

_Spiritus ex alia parte;_

_transire magnus partitus_

She blinked and peered up, her mouth dropping open.

There hovering over her pentagram was a disoriented short, plump ghost with blue-ish skin, overalls, and gloves.

"_It _worked," she muttered under her breath.

"Uh, beware?" He mumbled a bit hesitantly.

The Latina gaped, flabbergasted at the immediate results. Paulina's eyes twinkled with pride at a job well done.

**A/N: The spell I got was not really a spell. I got it from the television show **_**Charmed **_**and then translated it into Latin, which I recently learned is not, in fact, the oldest language known to man. Actually, it's nowhere near as old as a few other languages.**

_Hear me now, hear my cries_

_Spirit from the other side_

_Cross now the great divide_

**I tried looking up some summoning spells for an idea of what to do here, but I got nothing, so I ended up just stringing some crap spell together.**

**As many other times, I haven't had a chance to revise/edit this page, so bare with me.**

**Any and all feedback is appreciated. ;)**


	6. Cumbia

**A/N: Latin Dancing! Now you get a little taste of Cumbia! My favorite dance.**

**Anyways, I don't own Danny Phantom.**

**P.S. For those of you who don't know what cumbia is, I've provided a YouTube link at the bottom. ;D**

It was a strange Saturday, to say the least. Like every other day, Danny was chasing down ghosts and capturing them into his Fenton Thermos and, as usual, the Box Ghost had once again somehow managed to escape the Ghost Zone.

Danny had been flying after the plump ghost when the unexpected occurred.

The round ghost craned his neck to peer back at the teenage hero. "_I am the Box Ghost! Fear-!_" The ghost was cut off abruptly by a loud pop that was followed by the ghost's sudden disappearance.

Danny stopped abruptly and glanced around, eyes darting around the area.

Confused, he flew around in wide circles, scanning the sky and the ground for the pesky entity.

He was pretty bewildered when the ghost never reappeared. Eventually, Danny just shrugged it off. The Box Ghost would, he deduced, reappear by the end of the day.

So, deciding to ignore the anomaly, he proceeded to continue his daily routine as if nothing had happened and flush the ghosts back into the Ghost Portal.

He had just finished reverting to his human form when a knock on the door pulled his attention back to the real world.

Danny rushed up the stairs and swung the front door open only to find himself completely dumbfounded and utterly shell-shocked at whom he found at the door.

"Hi, you must be Danny." The girl smiled pleasantly at him and peered over his shoulder, curiously glancing around his average-looking house before focusing back on the raven-haired teen. Danny's eyes fell down to her extended hand. "My name is Teresa Sanchez. Paulina told me to come." Danny automatically grasped her warm hand and continued to stare in stunned silence. She smiled, pulling her hand away. "May I come in?"

"Oh! Uh, sure! Yeah! Come on in!" He moved aside and provided her with space to enter his humble abode.

"Nice place." The girl smiled and inquisitively took in the whole house, eyeing every detail with an intrigued expression. She was _very _good-looking, needless to say. She had sleek, dark-ish brown hair that was swept up in a careless bun, bronze skin stretched out over her slim and _extremely curvy _body, dark brown eyes that glittered with friendliness, and thin glossy lips that stretched out into a polite smile when her eyes fell back on Danny as she openly studied him.

He immediately presumed she was Hispanic and, although her beauty rivaled Paulina's, she did not look even remotely similar to her snarky cousin. If it weren't for the identical cute pixie-like nose he wouldn't have labeled them off as relatives. In fact, if he hadn't known she was coming, he would've thought her a stranger.

"Well, Paulina's told me about you but what she didn't say was how cute you were." Her dark eyes met his own icy blue ones.

He blushed profusely, her flirtatious wink causing him to break their gaze. "That's a compliment, you know. If I were single, well…"

She chuckled and dropped her handbag onto Danny's countertop, rummaging through its contents. Danny wondered how long it would take because the bag was rather large, in his opinion. He firmly believed that it could probably fit six of his textbooks and still have room for a bag of pencils.

"Um," she pulled out a flat, square container and opened it to reveal a round disk. She held the CD up in her hand, causing it to release a rainbow-like reflection beneath the clear lighting. "I brought a CD. I figured you might not have a radio so I called my boyfriend to bring us one." She paused and added, "And to help with the dancing, of course. I hope that's okay." Her eyes flickered to Danny. "Do you mind having another visitor? Because if not, I can call and tell him not to come. I mean, I know you didn't know he was coming and all, and I don't want you to get in trouble with your parents or nothin'." She paused and her gaze flickered around the house. "Even though it looks like they're not home…"

"It's fine," Danny replied, motioning for her to follow him into the family's living room. He flashed her a curious look. He was having a tough time believing that this sweet, pretty Latina was associated to the grouchy teenager that used to emotionally bully him.

"How are you related to Paulina?" Danny blurted out, unable to stop himself.

"Oh," the girl laughed joyfully. "Her father's my uncle." She beamed at the hybrid. "Yup, she's ma cousin."

"Um, well, that's not what I meant..." Danny's cheeks flushed a rosy color as he glanced away. "You just don't look like her."

The Hispanic teen smiled. "Why? 'Cause she's gorgeous?"

"No!" Danny shouted. "Not that you're **n**ot beautiful! I mean, you are! Not to say that I _like _you. I mean, not that you're not likeable. I mean, you're pretty and all and you have a boyfriend and-"

Another knock startled the hero out of his ramblings and he instantly jumped to answer it, his ears burning at the sound of the Teresa's tinkling laughter. He swung open the door and found himself slightly stunned when he looked up to see another, rather good-looking teen. He was about seventeen or eighteen with dark, gelled-up hair and light, hazel-colored eyes. His skin was relatively lighter than the Sanchez girls' but darker than Danny's. He had a wiry body that indicated he worked out some and was approximately a few centimeters taller than the teen hero. The human-ghost hybrid squirmed.

"Yo, I'm _Antonio, _but you can call me Tony." The tall Latino let himself inside. "You're...Danny, right? I brought the radio, hope you don't mind." He lifted the contraption in his hands for emphasis and peered into the living room.

"Er, it's fine." Danny replied. "Uh, you must be Teresa's boyfriend."

Danny shut the door behind them and trudged after the older teen as he entered the kitchen only to find Teresa sitting on a high stool, swinging her legs back and forth, a happy grin planted on her face. She swung her head back and forth, wiggling in her seat. Danny raised his brows and noticed a pair of earphones plugged into her small ears.

The sound of another angrier pounding caused the trio to glance up at the door. Danny couldn't help but inwardly groan. He had a feeling this was going to be an incredibly long day.

...

"Ohmigod, Danny." Paulina released his arms and rolled her eyes as if she were teaching him basic skills. "It's not that hard! What don't you get? It's step, step, step, kick, step, step, step, kick!" Paulina did the motion with her feet and proceeded to explain. "One foot _back_! No, then left!"

Danny struggled to move his feet but somehow continuously managed to get his ankles crossed and trip, falling flat on his face. At first, the repeated process had been humiliating, now he was simply beginning to feel deflated. No matter how much he tried to learn the moves, he simply could not get it. He watched and tried to mimic but to no avail. His efforts were completely and utterly futile.

"Look," Tony, who had been comfortably sitting on the couch, which they'd moved up against the wall, finally stood up, interceding their two-hour practice.

Conveniently, they had the windows closed, the only light coming from the fluorescent bulb that hung in their ceiling. Tony gently motioned for Paulina to step aside and she complied with a hiss of annoyance. "First of all, you need to be facing _away _from him." He turned so that he was facing the same wall Danny had been glaring at for a while. He peered over his shoulder and he held up two fingers so that they were aimed towards his hazel eyes and then pointed to his feet. "Watch carefully but don't repeat."

The young Latino then proceeded to move three steps to the right and kick gently, then the opposite. "Or just one foot back, then together then the other back then together. Those are the two easiest forms." He glanced up to his girlfriend and waved a hand. "Turn up the music."

Danny struggled to follow the teenager the best he could. It was a massive improvement. Now, he was neither tripping nor stumbling, although he did lose his step once in a while. Paulina and Teresa glanced at each other, nodding and shrugging at his dance moves. Teresa insisted that he was 'okay' whereas, according to Paulina, as long as he didn't "screw up" and act like a "_bruto_" in front of everyone, then he was fine. They continued practicing, though Danny's improvement didn't continue to progress from there, much to his partner's disappointment.

Finally, Tony offered to try the dance one last time before parting ways.

Danny nodded in agreement. "Well, I guess it'd be better if-" a small wisp of mist escaped his lips, "-you guys left right now! I'm..uh...I forgot to do something! You have to leave. Err, my parents are coming home soon!"

He instantly jumped from his place and shoved them out the door. Paulina spun on her heel and parted her lips in confusion. "But-"

"Practice tomorrow at five, got it. Oh, and Tucker and Sam want to come." He slammed the door shut and instantly took off, rushing to fulfill his duties.

"He's cute." Teresa commented, eyeing the door. "In a quirky kind of awkward way, but hell. Paulina, if you don't want him, I'm takin' him."

"He probably had something important come up. Probably a call from his girlfriend." Tony slid his hand around his girlfriend's waist after she did the same. They turned and walked away, leaving behind an irritated Paulina. "_Oh, that boy is gonna get it tomorrow," _she hissed.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

**A/N: So, so sorry for not updating sooner. College is getting busier.**

**Oh, and here's the YouTube link I mentioned earlier!**

watch?v=aepyO-eIvOc

**(Plug in the YouTube dot com in front of this.)**


	7. Illness

**A/N: Hi! Just letting you know I am still very much alive and do exist.**

**I am so, so sorry about the delayed update. I've got an overwhelming amount of work this semester.**

**In other words, less time to update.**

**I'll try my hardest to update **_**at least **_**once a month but, honestly, I'm not too confident.**

**College is overwhelming right now.**

**I don't own DP.**

Paulina furrowed her brows in annoyance as she tossed out the towels from her closet, wincing as one of the brooms fell down to the ground, making a large clattering noise in the process.

Today was supposed to have been a fun stress-free day.

First of all, her grandmother had taken Stephanie out to the mall for the rest of the day; then, after a call from the office, her father had run out for a last-minute conference; and, finally, Sam had called in, using Danny's phone, to inform her that the teenager was sick and had to cancel practice.

That was just fine. The boy needed to rest, and Paulina needed to run a few errands.

Her schedule was completely free, and she had the rest of the day to her self.

The day which she would spend studying her Craft.

So, she'd gone to the marketplace to buy a few spices for one of the more difficult spells she was learning. She had then gone out to do some real grocery shopping to buy some ingredients for chicken soup. She could serve some for her family and make enough to give some to Fenton.

She had been walking home when she caught sight of a news crew setting up their equipment, eerily close to her house. She recognized one of Amity's more popular reporters, Tiffany Snow.

Paulina bit her lip and continued walking, ignoring the crew. 'I'm just a normal girl with no secrets and nothing to hide,' she thought to herself. 'I'm not a witch; I'm just a teenage girl with boy problems and lots of college applications to fill out.'

Unfortunately, her "act normal" plan became complicated in a matter of moments.

As she was passing her neighbor's house, she found a metal cylindrical container on the floor. She paused and, placing all her bags in one hand, picked it up.

Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a thermos. She furrowed her brows in confusion.

She glanced up and peered around the perfectly trimmed brushes until she noticed a pale, white color in between the leaves.

To her horror, Phantom's body was stretched out on the ground, almost completely concealed by the dark leaves.

Paulina's gaze flickered to the news crew before she continued walking, acting as if nothing had happened as she headed home. She dropped all of her groceries into the entrance, pulled out her car keys, and raced out the door.

She tried incredibly hard to appear as inconspicuous as possible. She parked the car in front of the brush where Phantom lay and, with arduous effort, hauled him the unconscious ghost to the side of her car.

She hadn't gone unnoticed.

One of the cameramen's interns flashed her an inquisitive glance when she slammed the door shut.

He was undoubtedly wondering why a female Latina with a black SUV was parked across the street.

She peered over her car and flashed the teenager that had noticed her presence a dazzling smile. He replied with his own infatuated grin.

She climbed into the front seat and gave him a flirtatious wave as she drove into her own lot.

She draped a blanket over the ghost's head and literally dragged his body into her house, at which point, the lady that lived across from her stared with a horrified expression.

Paulina ignored her, and slammed the front door shut.

Phantom groaned as she yanked the blanket off of him. "Come on, ghost boy," she had muttered, "you're coming upstairs with me."

He unsteadily rose to his feet, draping one arm over her shoulder as she half-carried him up the stairs.

This was how Paulina ended up rummaging through her closets for some kind of bucket. She had made a huge mess in the process.

Earlier, when she dropped Phantom onto her bed, he had managed to utter out a few words of explanation: he had the chills, was light-headed, and nauseous.

Judging from the constant brightening and dimming of his aura, she had immediately inferred he'd caught some kind of ectoplasmic virus.

Granted, she only knew this because she'd spent that past few days reading about these supernatural entities.

Finally, she snagged an empty mop bucket and dashed upstairs only to find that Phantom had risen into a sitting position.

His face was looking a sickly green color instead of its usual pale.

Paulina jumped and immediately rushed over to him. She placed the bucket in front of him, seeing as he was just about to hurl all over her carpet.

"_Oh, god._" Phantom moaned, gripping the side of the bucket. "I'm…" he took a breath, "…so sorry…you have to go through this."

"Quiet," Paulina commanded. "You must've caught something."

"You think?" Phantom weakly retorted.

Paulina sighed and placed a hand on the ghost's firm back, hesitantly rubbing soothing circles. "You stay in bed. I'll be down stairs, whipping up a remedy. I'm making chicken soup."

At the sound of the words 'soup,' Phantom heaved and regurgitated the contents that resided in his stomach. Paulina winced but continued rubbing his back.

She frowned when he continued shivering beneath her touch.

"Better?" Paulina questioned.

The ghost boy shook his head and Paulina sighed. "I'll be right back. Shout if you need anything."

She rose from her spot and picked up a blanket from the bed, wrapping it around him.

"Stay warm." She ordered before pulling out one of her Craft books.

She flashed Phantom a concerned glance before slipping out.

:~:~:~:

Paulina had placed the pots in their corresponding place, her eyes flickering to the open pages.

Her Spells book had only a handful of information on ghost illnesses, and she was rather disappointed to find that it only had a list of the basic and most common diseases. Lucky for Phantom, he had contracted a pretty common virus that she recognized immediately.

Judging by the chills, nausea, uneven breathing, and inconsistent aura she realized he'd contracted the Ghost Flu, which was significantly worse than a human flu.

According to her book, the illness would last about three days before their immune system flushed it out.

It was curious, though. There was nothing about vomiting. Hell, she didn't even know ghosts could throw up.

She brushed her thoughts aside and focused on her current dilemma.

There was no immediate cure, but the book had a remedy to rid the Flu's victim of the extreme symptoms, like the, nausea, and the irregular breaths.

Paulina meticulously read over the book, her eyes absorbing the information.

After carefully locating the ingredients, she immediately began bustling about the kitchen, chopping vegetables and adding herbs, boiling this and cooking that.

By the time she finished her cuisine, there was a monstrous pile of pots and plates in the sink.

She didn't mind, her thoughts concernedly drifting back to the sick spirit.

She gently picked up the tray, glided up the stairs, and slipped into her room.

The Ghost Boy was stretched across her large bed, his arm dangling over the side of the mattress and his cheek pressed against one of her pillows.

His lips, which were now the same shade of gray as his skin, were parted slightly, and his usually bright, silver aura had now dimmed so much, she could hardly even discern it.

His dull chartreuse eyes fluttered open when she placed the food on her nightstand.

"Come on," she ordered, moving over to stand by Phantom. "Sit up."

The ghost sighed and struggled to sit up.

He gave her a weary gaze as she accommodated the pillows, so that he may feel more comfortable.

"Good?" She questioned.

The boy peered up at her curiously, briefly glancing at the plates. "Uh...what's that?" He managed to croak out.

"That," she replied as she moved to pick up the tray, "is your food."

She placed it in front of him before placing her hands on her hips.

"Okay, first of all, I'm not hungry." Phantom replied. "In fact, if I eat I'm gonna hurl. Second of all, how do I know you didn't drug this?"

Paulina met his eyes. "Don't be silly, ghost boy. Ghosts can't even be drugged_. _And, to answer your first question, it's a remedy I made. If you eat it, you'll feel better."

Phantom's stare shifted from her to the bowl as he scrutinized its contents. "This is soup," he pointed out. "And I'm a _ghost _not a _human._"

"Yeah, well, this soup has herbs used to treat Influenza Z1."

"What?" Phantom flashed her an incredulous gaze.

"Influenza Z1, a common but terrible virus from the Ghost Zone. It may be incurable but the symptoms can be alleviated. I figured it would be more pleasant to consume if I mixed the medicine into the soup. And, yeah, you're a ghost, but you used to be human. You probably had soup at _some _point in your life."

Paulina sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Listen, ghost. I was supposed to have a fun, stress-free day. But, as it happens, I found you _stuck in a bush_, of all places. I could've left you there or I could've let Tiffany Snow and her news crew find you, but I didn't. And, so help me god, if you don't make up your mind about eating that damn remedy that I took the time to prepare, I will throw you out of my house without a single thought. Then you can go find yourself someone _else _to take care of you."

The ghost once again peered down at his meal, hesitantly picking up the spoon. "Well," he muttered, "here goes nothing."

He dipped the eating utensil into the yellow-ish green, steaming liquid before shoving it into his mouth.

He chewed for a bit, swallowed, and blinked. "Hey, this is pretty good."

Paulina released a breath of relief. "Good. Now, try to eat it slowly. You won't do any good chugging it all down."

She paused and glanced up at the sickly phantom. "So, you want to tell me how you ended up in my neighbor's bush?"

He shook his head and, with trembling hands, continued wielding the spoon. "Alright," Paulina sighed, "well, how do you feel?"

"A little nauseas," he muttered between mouthfuls, "Weak, tired, exhausted. My body feels heavy, too."

"Well, you'll still be feeling pretty crappy the next three days but the herbs should get rid of all the nausea and vomiting. And, if I'm right, you'll also be breathing better in a couple hours."

Phantom smiled as he swallowed the last of the soup, leaning back against the bed and looking even more drained.

Paulina moved the tray aside and froze when Phantom's eyes fluttered shut.

"Hey, Phantom?" Paulina hesitantly poked his arm in an effort to prevent his falling asleep. "You-you can't stay here. I've got stuff to do and you'll just be in my way."

The teenager's eyes fluttered half open.

"Thanks you," he murmured almost incoherently, shifting his position so that he was laying face down rather than sitting upright, "for let me stay."

"But-" Paulina paused, peering down at Phantom. He seemed so...different. The few times she'd run into him (most of which were during her freshman year of high school), he'd seemed so in control and/or cocky, depending on what he was doing. He always had a witty retort in his mouth and stood tall and proud.

Now, here he was: pale, trembling, and vulnerable, but somehow managing to look peaceful despite his condition.

After much consideration, Paulina reluctantly decided to allow him to remain in her room, since there was no way to get him out unnoticed. She pressed her lips together and carefully laid a blanket over his body, smiling when he tightly wrapped it around himself.

She sighed and calmly observed him, eyes tracing over his still striking face.

After a few seconds, Paulina shook herself out of her trance. She immediately forced herself to remain busy. The Latina removed the bucket with his stomach's contents in it and tossed it out.

She cleaned her disorganized kitchen before instantly moving to hide her spell books and special herbs.

She even went so far as to finish her homework, even though it was still Friday.

She also periodically checked on Phantom and was relieved as she watched him quickly improve. He swiftly regained his color and eventually stopped trembling.

She hoped this meant he would wake up soon, especially since her father would be returning from work very soon and he would eventually become a hindrance.

She conjured up a million reasons for wanting him out of her house, but she had to admit his presence was extremely comforting.

Paulina frowned, realizing that there were only other three people who had that effect on her.

The cheerleader furrowed her brows and forced herself to concentrate on the math problem before her.

**A/N: Okay. I should probably get back to studying for my two tests Monday. It's late and I seriously need to get a move on.**

**Reviews will be immensely appreciated.**


	8. Blossoming

**A/N: Wow. Long time no update.**

**Well, I suppose this'll make up for this. Or not. I don't know.**

**I think this is my longest chapter so far. 8 pages, in case you were wondering.**

**Anywho, I do not own DP.**

The sound of voices coming from downstairs caused Danny to wake up. He released a sigh as his eyes fluttered open.

The teenager pushed up on his elbows and sat up. Surely enough, he felt reenergized. The nausea had completely dissipated, his breathing had returned to normal, and he no longer felt like his insides were burning with fire. He blinked as he curiously glanced at the blue blanket draped him. The fabric was soft and cool.

He glanced up and took in the sight of the room. To his right, he found a nightstand, a large lamp, and a few picture frames hanging from the wall.

To his left was the door and, across from that, a study desk was situated against the wall.

To his amusement, Paulina was sitting at the small desk, head resting on an open textbook, her eyes shut.

Danny carefully slid off the bed, glad to see he was strong enough to walk.

His gaze flickered to the completed homework Mr. Lancer had assigned their class before focusing on a sleeping Paulina.

Her full, glossed lips were parted slightly and her breathing was slow and rhythmic.

Her dark locks, he noticed, were sprawled across the rest of her homework papers.

"Paulina?" He questioned as he placed a hand over her shoulder.

The Latina's mouth snapped shut and her brows furrowed, but she never opened her eyes. "What?" She grumbled, sleepily.

Danny jumped as someone knocked on the door. "Paulina?" A familiar voice rumbled out from the other side of the walls.

Danny leaped away from Paulina, automatically turning invisible.

The Latina's head snapped up; she woke up immediately.

"It's dad. I'm coming in."

Paulina's eyes, now completely alert, swiftly swept across the room. Her gaze paused at the spot where Danny floated. The ghostly teenager froze. His heart lurched.

There was no way she could see him, right? He bit his lip. The notion was ludicrous. No one could see an invisible ghost...right?

Both of their attentions were immediately drawn to the door as her father poked his head inside.

"Hey, honey. I heard you didn't go to school today?"

"Oh," Paulina smiled and stretched. "No. There was some sort of teacher meeting thing today, so we didn't have to go in."

"Ah, okay. Just wanted to make sure you weren't skipping." Her father smiled. "I also wanted to say that your soup came out _deliciosa, mi hijita_."

"Thanks, daddy." Paulina replied.

Her father beamed. "Alright, well, I'll be in the office if you need anything."

"Okay." Paulina replied with a grin.

Her father's eyes cynically swept around the room before he shut the door. The two teenagers waited until they no longer heard his footsteps before speaking.

Paulina's eyes immediately snapped to Danny as he returned to visibility.

She let out a sigh of relief. "Oh my goodness. That was a close call."

She placed a hand over her head before glancing at the hybrid.

"Phantom, what the hell are you doing up and about?"

"Oh, uh, I feel better." Danny confessed as he sat back unto her bed.

"Yeah, I can tell," she replied, brushing back a strand of dark waves behind her ear. "But, just to make sure, mind if I take your temperature?" She inquired, eyes flickering to the ground.

"Uh, I guess." Danny replied.

The Latina moved over to sit beside him. She placed a hand over his forehead, her gaze wandering to a spot above his head. She smiled slightly.

"Well, you're not warm anymore and your aura's gone back to normal." She pulled her eyes away from the silver glow that outlined his body and hesitantly looked into his eyes.

"So, um, you want to tell me what you were doing in my neighbor's lawn?"

"Oh," Danny smiled sheepishly and let his gaze fall down to his hand. Her stare was making him uncomfortable. It almost seemed like, by staring into his eyes, she was peering into his very soul, seeing things she shouldn't be seeing. "Honestly? I was supposed to be staying at home, but there was a ghost fight and I had to stop it before someone got hurt."

"Hm," Paulina murmured. "Must be because of that hero complex of yours."

"Well, I just wanted to thank you for helping me out. By the way," his eyes moved to study her face, although he kept himself from looking directly into her blue-green orbs. "How did you know about the remedy?" He paused. "Actually, how did you know about the flu in the first place?"

"Oh, um," she hesitated and rose to her feet. She casually strolled over to her tall, brown bookshelf and intently studied the titles. "I have my ways," she replied vaguely.

"You...have your ways?" Danny shifted nervously. He really didn't like the sound of that. He knew from experience that when people spoke in ambiguous tones it usually implied that people knew way more than they let on.

"It's none of your business," Paulina calmly replied glancing over her shoulder to look at him. "I have my secrets, and I know you have yours."

"Yeah, well," Danny's gaze hardened as he glared at her suspiciously. "Being a hero is part of my job description. I take care of all the ghosts and, even though I fight them on a regular basis, it's also my job to _protect _them on a daily basis, too. I have an obligation to both humans _and_ ghosts, so if there's a threat to us, I need to handle it. That means, like it or not, you have to tell me where you got that information."

Paulina immediately spun around to glare at him.

In all the years they had known each other, people around school noticed that Paulina was slowly but surely losing her Spanish accent over time. It was rumored that she had been taking language classes with a private tutor.

When Paulina spoke, Danny noticed, her years of virtually flawless English broke down, and her Latin accent slipped out in little spurts, especially when she placed an angry emphasis on certain words.

Her eyes had narrowed and she folded her hands over her chest. Her lips were puckered in annoyance. "You think I'm a _threat? _What the hell, Phantom? I just saved your _fucking afterlife. _If it weren't for me, you'd be puking your guts out right about now. I'm sorry, but I don't remember inviting you to stay over my house, much less take the time to give you a _remedy._"

Danny's gaze guiltily fell to the floor as she continued. "Now, all of a sudden, I'm a _threat_? And what do you mean you _'need to handle it?'_ Are _you _threatening _me_?"

Danny's eyes snapped up to her the moment her words hit him. "Look, I didn't mean it like that-"

"I'm sorry," Paulina interrupted angrily, "but you need to get the hell out of my house."

Danny's eyes widened and his eyes snapped to Paulina. There was no way he was leaving without them coming to a resolution.

After all, he was genuinely grateful for her help. "Look, I'm sor-"

"_Now,_" she hissed, pointing towards the window.

Danny opened his mouth, closed it, and frowned. Without another word, he floated out, immediately dashing towards his home.

The sky was clear; the sun was shining. People in Amity happily bustled around the town, the birds chirped below him.

Danny soared away from the Paulina's house, guilt overwhelming him.

It was a beautiful day. The only reason he had the opportunity to enjoy it was because of the Hispanic girl who had taken the time to care for him. If it wouldn't have been for her, he probably would've been discovered by someone else. He could've been exposed to the media in his fragile state.

Remorse coursed through him—remorse that was soon replaced by curiosity. He already knew Paulina meant no harm. She was obviously a better person than she was three years ago. But where could she have gotten the information about the virus? Better yet, where did she find a _remedy?_

Mystery enveloped the teen cheerleader and, as memory served, she had outright admitted to having a few secrets.

Danny shook his head.

He decided that, so long as she didn't hurt anyone, he wouldn't delve into it, but the newly discovered information was gnawing at him.

He reluctantly focused his attention towards home. Unfortunately, his mom had known about his being ill and he prayed, for all that was holy, that Jazz had prevented Maddie from coming into his empty room.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

By the following morning, Danny already had a nice apology completely formed in his head.

Fortunately, Maddie hadn't been aware of his absence, but Jazz was. And she was pissed.

It had taken some time to explain his whereabouts, but she eventually admitted that he was glad he was okay, although she urged him to go apologize to his former nurse.

As they had scheduled, Danny eventually met up with Teresa, Paulina, and Tony. They practiced _Salsa _dancing, which—to his thrill—resulted in him impressing everyone. He got the beat down rather quickly and was soon spinning Teresa around the room.

The Hispanic trio was buzzing with excitement and astonishment.

Paulina had stepped towards Danny, and taken his hands. He immediately swept her into the dance. In return, she stunned him by showing off her skills, challenging him to keep up. She was an impressive dancer and the revelation of her magnificent ability made the hybrid wonder what other secret talents she possessed.

He found himself craving to find out.

In honor of his success, Paulina treated him to a meal, which he was delighted to accept.

His ghost sense went off at that moment.

He accepted but with the excuse that he needed to go home and change his attire. He offered to stop by her house later on and she agreed.

It took a while, but he finally defeated yet another ghostly adversary, went home, changed, and made it back at Paulina's in record time.

It had been a little more than half an hour since he danced with her, and he found himself grateful for having obtained the power of flight. It made long trips all the more brief.

He knocked on the large door and was mildly surprised when Stephanie greeted him. "Danny!" She shouted gleefully, elatedly clapping her hands.

He bent down to her height and accepted the gentle hug she gave him. "Hey, kiddo. Where's your sister?"

"Upstairs getting ready." The little girl paused and grinned. "She said to tell you to wait in her room until she comes out."

"Thanks squirt," he replied and chuckled as she hobbled into the living room. She propped herself in front of the television, her attention focusing on cartoons.

Danny grinned and obeyed the toddler's orders.

He waltzed into the same room he had slept in just a day earlier. With nothing to do, the teenager took a seat at the Latina's study desk.

He also took the opportunity to absorb the details of the room. There was a large overflowing bookshelf leaning against the wall, indicating that the Latina read a lot in her free time. There were a few photographs hanging around the room. Most of them, he noticed, were of Paulina and Stephanie; one of the photos included that intimidating Sanchez father that Danny made a point of avoiding.

He spun his chair around and peered down at a picture that was perched on the desk.

He picked up the frame and inspected it.

There were two people in the frame.

One of them Danny recognized as a six-year-old Paulina. He smiled. She was absolutely adorable, and the resemblance to Stephanie was absolutely remarkable. The smiling child had her hands wrapped around a stunningly beautiful woman who had an equally brilliant smile plastered on her face.

Danny blinked.

This young woman—undoubtedly in her early twenties—had features that mirrored Paulina's. The mouth, he noticed was the same, as Paulina's—plump and red. A faint pink hue coated her cheeks, and her familiar sparkling aqua eyes radiated mirth. Her tan body was equally as voluptuous as Paulina's, if not more so.

Although her curls were identical to Paulina's, the older woman's ebony-colored hair contrasted with Paulina's chocolate colored locks.

She was radiant and absolutely breathtaking. It was strange, though. Danny couldn't remember ever having seen her around town. Or even at Paulina's home, for that matter.

He briefly wondered where she was, what had happened to her.

He set the picture down and glanced up at the sound of the knob turning.

Paulina stepped inside.

She wore a tight, black sleeve-less shirt that revealed a peek of her bosom. A pair of dark blue jeans hugged her curvy thighs. Her brown waves tumbled down to her back, framing her lovely, oval face.

Danny rose to his feet when she entered.

Paulina blinked, noticing him. "Danny, you're already here."

She walked past him and stood in front of the mirror, analyzing her reflection.

"Yeah, um, your sister let me in." He blushed profusely. He was suddenly bashful about having thrown on a casual jacket over a white tee and his traditional baggy jeans. "You look amazing," he blurted out.

She glanced away from the mirror. "Really? I was thinking about putting on some make-up, but-"

"No need." He blurted. "You look beautiful." He snapped his mouth shut and glanced down at his sneakers as his face was engulfed in flames. He silently cursed himself for not shutting up.

Unbeknownst to him, the Latina had a smile on her lips and a faint pink hue that blossomed across her cheeks. "Thank you."

She moved over to the closet and opened the doors. Until now, he hadn't seen her closet and, boy, was it enormous. His eyes widened as his gaze fell upon neatly organized shoes and purses that were categorically stacked on shelves.

She shuffled through the myriad of shoes, and Danny wandered how she could keep track of the seemingly hundreds of items that were stored in there.

She got down on all fours and rummaged through a pair of stilettoes found at the bottom of the closet. She waved her butt in the air and Danny blushed as his gaze travelled there.

Paulina stopped abruptly and turned to look at Danny. "Are you staring at my ass?" Paulina accused, amusement evident on her face.

"N-no." Paulina's unbelief caused Danny to blush even more profusely. "S-sorry." Danny stuttered out. He rose to his feet and busied himself by walking around the large room.

Everything else seemed as organized as her closet. There was almost nothing out of the ordinary and, were it not for Danny's keen observation, he wouldn't have noticed the one thing that shouldn't have been found in Paulina's room.

On one of her little stands, there was a lovely flower encased in a cubic glass case. fingered the little golden hook that, if opened, could cause disaster.

The lovely, vibrant, blood red petals seemed fresh and deceitfully innocent.

"Holy shit," he muttered.

"What?" Paulina inquired, turning around.

"Paulina, where did you get these?" Danny held case up in the air for her to see.

"What?" Paulina immediately rushed over to him. "Don't touch that! Those are extremely rare."

"I _know. _With a family of ghost hunters, it's impossible to _not _know how lethal they can be. How on earth did you get your hands on _blood blossoms? _Do you have any idea what they're capable of?"

"Of course I know what they're capable of!" Paulina exclaimed, snatching it away from him.

"Well, why...who...I mean-"

"I have connections." Paulina answered. "And, as for why they're here, that is none of your business." She immediately opened her dresser, gently placing it over her clothes before slamming the drawer shut.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to pry. It's just—I know how rare those things are. And how dangerous."

"Believe me, I know." Paulina sighed and pulled a small smile onto her face. "Now, uh, you still up for some dinner?"

"Definitely," Danny grinned, though inwardly he was struggling to keep down a million questions.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Paulina treated Danny to some fast food. They chattered and laughed at Stephanie's silliness. Then Paulina suggested they go for a walk to which Danny readily agreed.

They walked and talked, completely at ease with one another. Their little expedition caused Danny to momentarily forget about the mystery shrouding the Latina.

At dusk, they passed an ice cream stand.

Stephanie begged Paulina for a cold treat. "Please, please, please, please, pleaaaaaase!"

"Okay," Paulina agreed with a slight chuckle. "But after this, we're going home. Okay?"

"How about you girls take a seat somewhere. I'll get it for you." Danny smiled down at the two females.

"You sure?" Paulina queried.

"Yeah. I'll be right back." Danny gave them a slight wave and took to the opposite direction.

Paulina and Stephanie sat down at a bench further along the road. Stephanie eventually ran up to him, informing him what it was that she and Paulina wanted.

"Alright, one vanilla, one mint, and one chocolate with extra rainbow sprinkles. That'll be six fifty," the ice cream man informed.

Danny smiled he handed him a twenty dollar bill. The friendly man smiled. "Out of twenty. Here's your change and the ice cream will be just a moment, young man."

"Thank you." Danny smiled as he accepted the cash, shoving it in his pocket.

A small tug at his jeans drew his attention to little Steph. Her little buttoned nose was scrunched up and her brown eyes emanated worry. "What's wrong, squirt?"

"Big bully is being mean to Paully." She explained, glancing towards where her sister was.

"What?" Danny followed her line of gaze and, to his dismay, found the source of the youngest Sanchez's source of fear.

A familiar, bulky blond was hovering over Paulina. He gazed at her with lust; she was glaring up at him. From his perspective, it seemed like Paulina was arguing with the much-loathed Dash about something.

"Stephanie, wait here. I'll be right back."

Danny approached the bickering couple, anger bubbling up as he caught snippets of their conversation.

"Come on, babe. You know I always loved you. Why don't you come back to my house?"

"Because you're a cheater and you're drunk!"

"And you are so sexy when you're mad."

Dash grabbed her arm, earning a furious shout from her. "Let go of me, _bruto! Pendejo!_"

"Hey! Let her go!" Danny shouted as he moved closer. He stepped in front of the larger teenager.

Dash smirked and shoved Paulina aside. She stumbled to the left, catching herself before she tripped. "Well, if it isn't Fen-toenail. What'cha gonna do, huh? Beat me? I'll crush you like a bug." Dash stepped forward threateningly, raising his fists as if preparing for combat.

"No!" Paulina jumped between the two boys, poising herself in a defensive stance. The action caused Danny to smile a bit. "You leave him alone or I swear I'll make your life a living hell."

"Move away, bitch." Dash snarled. This time, instead of just shoving her, he grabbed her and tossed her to the ground. She sat up, fury lighting her eyes. Before either of them could react, Danny did the unexpected.

He swung his arm, fist colliding with Dash's broad face. The impact caused Dash to stumble back a few steps. For the briefest moment, the older teen didn't react, but when he did, he glanced at Danny shocked and mortified.

He stomped forward, ready to return the attack. "Why you little shit-"

Danny once again struck the other teen, this time sending him to the ground.

Danny moved over to stand over a groaning Dash. He ignored the blossoming bruises on the teen's face. "You don't _ever _treat women like that. And if I ever see you bothering Paulina, I'll beat the shit out of you."

He spun around and moved to focus on Paulina.

She was lying on the ground, the upper half of her body held up by her small hands. She blinked, utterly stupefied by the events that had played before her.

Danny held out his hand and helped her to her feet. "Did that really just happen?" Paulina blinked.

"You mean me finally standing up to Dash? Yes."

"Wow," Paulina whistled. She peered up at Danny and grinned. "Who knew you had it in you."

"Well, he shouldn't be treating you like that." Danny smiled and unconsciously raised his hand. He lightly brushed her cheek with his fingers. She smiled shyly as he beamed down at her.

"Wow! Danny's a hero!" The loud squeal caused the duo to turn and look at Steph who was hugging the three cups of ice cream to her chest.

Danny chuckled and helped her with the other cups, handing the vanilla to Paulina.

"You did poosh, poosh." She swung her free fist twice, jubilantly mocking the one-sided fight.

"Yes, but I only did that to save Paulina, so don't go around hitting people, okay?" Danny warned, patting her head.

She nodded in understanding, peering over at Dash who was already staggering off in the opposite direction, shouting drunken curses.

"How about we go home?" Danny suggested.

"Fine by me," Paulina smiled, linking one arm around Danny's.

The hybrid blushed lightly, but didn't shrug her off. He happily escorted her all the way back to her car.

Prior to dropping Danny off at his home, Paulina badgered Danny, reminding him about the countdown to her cousin's party. After all, the worst thing possible was if, the day after the next, he would forget about the party and she would be forced to spend the rest of the night with that imbecile warlock named José.

Danny had smiled and assured her that he would definitely be attending. And with that, he'd gone into his anomaly of a house.

She went home, put her exhausted sister to bed, and dashed into her own room. It was late. The clock informed her it was past ten.

She made an effort to fall asleep—she did.

Unfortunately, her excitement—for what, she didn't know—kept her awake.

She threw the covers off and decided that she may as well be progressive and make use of her temporary insomnia. She gathered together a few of her Craft supplies and sat cross-legged on the floor.

Paulina half-smiled as she placed a hand over the spot where Danny had lightly stroked her. She shivered as the warmth spread from her cheek to the rest of her body. Her heart leaped and her stomach flipped.

The girl shook her head and snapped out of here trance. She reprimanded herself for acting with such folly and once again focused on the items before her.

She had every intention of keeping the raven-haired, blue-eyed boy out of her mind.

**A/N: Finally got done with this effing chapter. Now, on to finish homework.**

**Reviews would be much appreciated.**


	9. Secrets

"**A life that a writer breathes into a character adds to our own experiences and enlarges our view of the world."**

**A/N: I know this is long overdue. But Finals are over, and I'm finally outta school. Because of the long wait, I've treated you with an über long chapter.**

"Salt, salt, salt."

Paulina rummaged around the kitchen, scanning the shelves for the missing item.

The teenager had various items scattered around the kitchen. The countertop was in complete disarray with the ingredients scattered all over the place. Her kid sister was in the living room, watching television.

The cartoon shows constant sing-alongs only served to further irritate the already frustrated girl.

"Where's the damn salt!" Paulina nearly shouted in exasperation. She sighed and gripped the edges of the large island.

She sighed and walked around the kitchen counter to her large crème-colored Chanel bag. She rummaged through her bag and pulled out one of her favorite necklaces. She gripped the small amber stone that hung from thin gold chain. It was half an inch diameter, allowing it to fit perfectly in her hand. She curled her fingers around it, focusing on the warm gem. She inhaled and exhaled, eyes momentarily fluttering closed.

The frustration she felt steadily began to ebb away and was soon replaced with a soothing sense of calamity.

"Paully, what're you doing?"

Paulina's eyes snapped open at the sound of the high voice. Stephanie was sitting on a high stool, her eyes absorbing the items spread out across the counter.

She snatched up a miniature plastic bag and peered at the contents inside. "Is this sugar?"

"These," Paulina explained, tying the golden chain around her neck. "Are for emergencies only."

"Whaddo they do?" Stephanie inquired, large brown eyes boring into Paulina.

"This one," she gestured towards the bag in the toddler's hands. "Is actually for protection from evil spirits. It took a long time for Paully to make it, so don't play with it, okay?"

Stephanie frowned and dropped the little baggie.

"And dis one?" She pointed to another that had five stones inside it.

"This one," Paulina held it up proudly. "Is to keep ghosts-"

She was cut off by the sound of a fist hammering against the door.

Paulina paused and glanced over her shoulder, peering at the entrance of the room. She furrowed her brows. Her father was upstairs, having fallen asleep while watching television. Her grandmother was in another city, helping out her cousin's mother with the party plans.

"Alright, Steph, stay here, and _don't touch anything._" She flashed the cherub a warning glare before slipping out of the door-less kitchen.

More pounding emanated from the large door, causing Paulina to jump into a sprint. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She shouted with annoyance.

She swung the door open and froze upon seeing her current visitors.

Valerie stood at the door, a phone in one hand and a bag slung over the other shoulder. She wore faded jeans and a loose t-shirt and flip-flops. Her hair was swept up into a messy ponytail. Star, on the other hand, had her long blond hair twisted into a lovely fish braid that tumbled down over her left shoulder. A book bag held onto her slender back, and a large Chanel purse was dangling from her left arm. She, unlike Valerie, wore a loose tank top that fell down above her knees, shorts, and flats.

"Uh, what're you guys doing?" Paulina queried, eyeing the girls' casual attire.

"Don't tell me you forgot!" Star's mouth dropped open. "We agreed to have a sleepover. I can believe that Valerie forgot, but I can't believe you did, too!"

The perky blonde huffed and placed her hands on her hips.

Valerie and Paulina each guiltily glanced away. Star studied them both. "What's going on here? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Sorry, I've just been distracted lately." Paulina admitted. She held open the door wider, gesturing for her friends to enter. "Come on inside, guys."

"Uh, I've been busy, too." Valerie nodded as Paulina moved to hug them.

The duo slipped inside, entering the familiar home. Star immediately waltzed into the living room, sighed, and plopped onto her couch. "Man, I forgot how ginormous your house is!" She threw her hands up, making a dramatic sweeping motion to emphasize the room's size.

"Paully!" A voice shouted from the kitchen. Paulina started, remembering the unusual ingredients that lay in the kitchen.

Valerie's eyes snapped away from her phone, emerald eyes brightening.

"Aw, Steph's here?" A wide smile stretched across her face. She moved to walk towards the kitchen but Paulina stepped in front of her.

"I wouldn't go in there. It's a huge mess." She waved her hand. "Food everywhere. The fish went bad and...it's gross."

Valerie grimaced. "Disgusting." She paused and changed directions, deciding to head into the living room. "How about you just send the little cutie over here?" She smiled and sank onto the couch beside Star, resting her head on the blond girl's shoulder.

Paulina released a breath of relief.

"Paully?" She rolled her eyes as Stephanie's squeaky voice drifted in from the kitchen. She turned and reluctantly made her way to her sister. "What're these pretty red flowers for?"

Paulina paused. '_Flowers?_'

Sudden realization struck Paulina, a horrified look spread across her face.

"Stephanie! Don't touch those!"

She dashed past the door-less entrance and found Stephanie reaching her fingers into a bowl.

Paulina swiftly jumped across the room and grasped the toddler's hands, moments before they touched the deadly petals. The startled toddler glanced up at Paulina with shock.

"Stephanie?" Paulina began solemnly, giving her sister a stern stare. "What did I tell you?"

Steph frowned and dropped her gaze to the floor. "Not to touch anything..." she murmured guiltily.

"That's right. These flowers are pretty, but I don't want you touching them, okay? They're very dangerous." Stephanie nodded reluctantly as Paulina released her grip. She lightly ruffled the girl's hair. "Now, why don't you go to the living room? Valerie and Star are here."

"Valerie?"

In an instant, the girl scurried out of the kitchen. Paulina knew Stephanie would distract her friends long enough for her to at least get rid of the Crafts book, the blood blossoms, and some of the more 'unique' spices.

She scurried across the living room, stashing the spices in discreet areas where she hoped her father wouldn't find it.

She glanced at the bowl Stephanie had grabbed. She gripped the edge and peered into it. Even though they had been clipped two months ago from a bush belonging to an Asian country, the petals were still vibrant and blood red, and the stem and leaves remain black in color. This clearly indicated that the flowers were very much alive and as lethal as always.

Paulina sighed and glanced at the trashcan. She briefly thought of throwing them away but immediately decided against it. Finding these damn flowers were way too much trouble to just toss away. She'd had to pull some strings and search through the obscure community of Craft Practitioners to find it. It took six weeks to find it, and cost almost eight hundred dollars to purchase. No.

These rare, dangerous plants were too valuable to simply throw out. And they were extremely difficult to hide.

Then there was another dilemma: her Crafts book. The book was thick, heavy, and completely conspicuous. There was no way she could just hide it in the kitchen.

Maybe, she could slip past the living room, trot up the stairs, hide it, and come back.

She hugged the large volume against her chest and slipped out of the kitchen, entering the area between the living room and the kitchen.

She silently slipped upstairs and tossed the book beneath her bed, tossing the bag of blossoms into her nightstand's drawer before dashing out her room, shutting the door behind her.

She slipped downstairs and burst into the living room.

Stephanie was sharing their brown, leathery recliner with Valerie who was gripping cup noodles in one hand and flailing a fork around with the other. The toddler had a doll in one hand and was brushing Barbie's blonde locks with a large brush. The lovely African American was not only eating but also had her eyes trained on the television and was simultaneously bickering with Star, who was sprawled across a large tan sofa. Valerie, it seemed, was irritated with Star incessantly changing the channels.

Because she wielded the remote control, Star was the one decided what they were going to watch. The petite blonde, they all knew, had a habit of refusing to stay on one station for long and always moving on to another.

Paulina sighed and took a seat by Star's dainty feet. "Star," she began, "Would you please just leave one station on?"

Star shrugged, eyes briefly leaving the television screen to glance at the Latina. "When I find something good, I'll leave it on. Until then-Oh!" The blonde cut herself off as she backed up a channel. She stopped at the news and increased the volume of the TV. "Look, it's Danny Phantom!"

At the sound of the ghost's name, Paulina straightened up. Valerie leaned forward, bringing the swaying recliner to a violent stop. An annoyed noise erupted from Steph who dropped her doll, but Val didn't seem to notice.

"That Danny Phantom is mighty fine." Star commented as the reporter showed a clip of the ghostly hero fighting yet another ghost. This battle seemed to be pretty intense. The citizens of Amity Park were either fleeing the scene or ducking somewhere for cover—all with the exception of a few brave news crew. The camera occasionally jumped and shook, but the quality was overall great. They constantly zoomed in on Danny Phantom and his robot-like, flaming haired enemy.

The cameraman had a good enough view to capture Phantom's biceps, broad jaw, and lean form.

"That ghost boy is gonna get it one day!" Valerie angrily shouted, automatically flinging some spaghetti at the television. The wet noodles smashed against Phantom's face then slid down the screen just as the cameraman ducked away from an ectoblast.

"Val!" Star shouted, leaping into a sitting position as she waved the remote at Valerie. "What the hell? You splattered noodles all over Phantom's face!"

"And she got food on our flat screen TV," Paulina pointed out rising to her feet.

Valerie flashed them a sheepish smile. "Sorry," she apologized before her face scrunched up with blatant irritation. "Those ghosts just piss me off."

Valerie strolled over to a small cabinet that sat by the flat screen. She opened a drawer and pulled out a spray and cloth. Paulina had learned to keep these items nearby, having learned in freshman year that Valerie had developed a habit of throwing things—particularly food—at the television. Luckily, her friend hadn't shattered anything. Yet.

"You know what, Val?" Star hissed. "You seriously have discrimination issues. You're a ghost racist!"

Paulina sighed as she began wiping at the television. One of those silly "The snack the smiles back. Goldfish!" commercials jumped onto the screen.

"Guys," Paulina began. "Don't start. Steph's in the room, and I don't want her listening to this."

At the sound of her name, the toddler glanced up from the doll in her hands and peered between the blond and brunette.

Paulina placed the items down and glanced at her glowering friends. "We're supposed to go out and have fun today. Now, my grandma's coming home any minute now and we're all gonna go shopping together._ No fighting._"

The duo grudgingly agreed.

Paulina's grandmother eventually came, and greeted Paulina's friends with a warm smile. She took over Paulina's babysitting role and allowed the girls to go out and enjoy the remainder of their Girls Night Out.

Dusk was beginning to set and the trio stopped at a fast food restaurant, arguing about what movies to watch in the Theater.

Paulina shook her head as they bickered. The trio was inseparable, which was odd considering they shared very few similarities.

Besides the obvious differences of race, ethnicity, and culture, there were plenty of things that made the girls nearly incompatible.

Star, although petite smaller in stature, was argumentative. Sure, she had a sweet side, but her sassy side was dominant. She never failed to reveal her conniving abilities and manipulative nature. Ironically, Star was the kind of girl that enjoyed reading for pleasure. She was clever and always quick to respond with witty retorts. Her small height also provided her with flexibility, agility, and stealth, which she constantly used to her advantage. It was no surprise she insisted on watching a psychological thriller.

Paulina was, oddly enough, the one with the softest heart. After she had outgrown her bullying nature and begun taking care of her little sister, she had realized she had somehow developed the extremely annoying trait of compassion and empathy, which she often struggled to fight by disguising it under snappy words and a fierce attitude. She insisted on watching a romantic comedy, much to the others' distaste.

Valerie, on the other hand, was a natural born fighter. She was athletic, tough, and determined. (They had also recently found out she was a ninth degree black belt.) She always stood her ground and had a huge temper. She predictably argued about watching an action film.

Besides the fact that they were all former A-Listers (Paulina's status was currently questionable), they shared one common trait: willfulness.

It shouldn't have been a good combination: all of them were headstrong, determined women who could be relentless and persistent if provoked.

And yet, of all their years of friendship, each of them had turned against each other only once, but it hadn't bided well. Their anger towards one another lasted for three months, and Paulina couldn't even remember what they had argued about.

After that, though, Paulina became their unofficial medium. She was beginning to learn to control her temper and was the one who remained the most logical during their squabbles, and it was all thanks to her daily meditations.

After ordering their meal, Star excused herself to go to the bathroom. She grabbed her bag and ducked in the opposite direction.

Valerie huffed. "How are we ever going to decide on a movie?"

"We'll decide," Paulina reassured her. She paused and looked directly at her friend who was picking at her fries. "Valerie, why haven't you gotten over the whole ghost business? I mean, you seem to have this belief that all ghosts are evil creatures."

"Not all of them," Valerie admitted. "Just ninety-nine percent of them."

"Well, I know it'll kill you to say this, but Star's right." Paulina pointed out. "She may be annoying sometimes but, most of the time, she's right. And you need to take her advice and cool it. You have to let go of all that anger. It's going to harm you."

Valerie sighed and folded her arms. "I suppose," she mumbled. "It's just...I don't know how to 'let it go,' as she keeps saying."

Paulina paused and brushed aside her hair. She unclasped the golden chain that hung around her neck and pulled out the pendant. "Here."

Valerie glanced down at the necklace. "Whoa, that's pretty." She smiled and took the item into her hands. "This is my favorite color," she pointed out, placing a finger over the orange stone.

"I know," Paulina nodded. "It's a gemstone." She paused and briefly mulled over whether or not to reveal its purpose. She decided to go for it. "It's Amber. Supposedly, certain gemstones have certain properties. This one is supposed to draw away one's negative energy and replace it with something positive. It helps users find balance in their life. I sometimes use it when I'm getting frustrated or tense. The only thing is that the effects vary from person to person depending on their willingness to change."

She peered at Valerie who had drawn her eyes away from the glittering stone to meet Paulina's gaze.

"It'll only work if you accept its healing abilities. It could take time, but if you want to let go of your anger, you can. And this'll help you do it."

"Hey," Valerie smiled tentatively. Her expression revealed uncertainty, but she tied it around her neck anyways. She grasped the stone and beamed at Paulina, her smile more confident. "Thanks Paulina. I'll return it as soon as-"

"Keep it," Paulina waved her hand. "I've got more stuff like that at home."

Paulina smiled and picked up her burger.

"So," Valerie questioned, popping a fry into her mouth. "When did _you _get so interested in stones and their 'magical qualities'?" She inquired, tucking the chain behind the collar of her shirt.

Paulina swallowed and glanced down at her food. "Well, I..."

"I'm back!" Star chirruped as she plopped down into her seat. "Oh!" She grinned as she glanced down at her enormous, fat piece of steak. "Delicious!" She grabbed a fork and knife, proceeding to shove a large portion of the meat into her mouth.

How she fit that huge piece into her mouth remained a mystery. "What'd I miss?" She managed to mumble out between mouthfuls.

"Nothin' much." Paulina replied.

"Except that I know what movie we should watch." Valerie smiled. "How about that new scary movie that just came out? Hauntings?"

"Oh! _Hauntings. _That sounds like a good one." Star agreed, bobbing her head up and down before shoving some fries into her mouth.

Paulina smiled as Valerie grinned back. "Perfect."

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Paulina rolled over. The girls had set up a sort of bed on the ground by tossing our some pillows and multiple blankets. They were camped up in the study (although Paulina thought of it more of a second living room) upstairs. The three of them were lying in front of the large flat screen that had been turned off hours ago.

She propped herself up on the elbows, getting a good view of her three amigas. Star was curled on her side, setting up on alarm through her phone. Valerie had already gotten comfortable and was laying face up, gaze fixed to the ceiling.

"Guys," Paulina began, earning her friends' attention.

Valerie peered at Paulina. Star beamed. "Yeah, Paulina?"

"Do you remember when we promised to be honest with each other?"

Star's smile instantly disappeared; Valerie's solemn expression didn't waver.

"Yeah?" Valerie was the first to speak up. "What of it?"

Paulina breathed. "I know you guys are keeping secrets."

Star bit her lip. "Look, Paulina-"

"No need." Paulina raised her free hand, cutting her off. "I haven't been entirely honest myself."

Valerie pushed herself up into a sitting position. Paulina continued. "I...think I'm ready. To...to tell you guys my secret, but I want to know yours, too. So, I'm not spilling anything until both of you are ready to share with me."

Star fell silent, her gaze fell to the ground.

"It's funny," Star muttered. "I was debating on telling you guys myself."

Valerie remained silent, glancing at both her friends before glancing down at her hands. "I don't know, you guys. I'm not sure if I'm ready to talk about it..."

"That's okay." Paulina nodded.

"We can talk some other day," Star responded. She sighed and switched her frown for a brilliant smile. "Well! Off to bed! Nighty night girls."

She perkily flung herself onto the pillow and huddled into the blankets.

"Night," Paulina replied with a small smile.

Valerie nodded lugubriously as she slipped beneath the covers. "Sweet dreams."

Feeling satisfied, Paulina dropped her head onto her own pillow.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Hours after sunlight trickled through the window's shades, Paulina's eyes fluttered open.

She blearily blinked about the room and hauled herself out of bed.

She automatically walked into the bathroom across the hall, tiptoeing past her unconscious friends.

The laziness of sleep still wore her down. She scrubbed her mouth clean but, instead of taking time to meticulously fix her hair to perfection, she briefly ran her fingers through her dark waves. The action smoothed her hair down a tad bit, but still looked disheveled.

In fact, if anyone caught sight of her now, it would be obvious that she'd only recently gotten out of bed. After all, she hadn't changed from her pink pajamas or her bunny slippers.

A muffled yet significantly loud noise startled Paulina as she entered the hall. She jumped and peered at the end of the passageway to where her room was. She sighed and turned in the direction of the sound.

She immediately assumed it was her sister in the room. It was rational assumption as the little toddler enjoyed making a mess out of Paulina's room and had a habit of knocking things over.

The Latina wasted no time in stepping into her chamber. She flicked on the lights and tiredly rubbed her eyes. "Stephanie, what are you-?"

A deep groan cut off Paulina's voice.

She blinked and stared down at the figure that had stumbled into her room. Danny Phantom was sprawled across the floor, leaning against the wall opposite her open window. He sat up and rubbed his head, painfully wincing.

"Phantom!" She hissed, shutting the door behind her and making sure to lock it. The vexed girl dropped down beside him. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"Ow," he winced as she placed a gentle hand over a growing bump on the back of his head. "Sorry," he murmured. The ghostly teenager sighed, unexpectedly cupping her slender hand into his own strong pair.

His hands were cool, but his touch sent warmth into her fingers. The warmth travelled up her arm.

His iridescent eyes met hers. A load of his guilt slammed into her full force. "I came to apologize for yesterday. You were totally right. I have no business sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."

Paulina sighed and knelt down beside him. "It's okay, ghost boy. But, honestly, you chose the worst time to come. My friends, Valerie and Star, came to sleep over."

"Whoa, who now?" Phantom suddenly seemed alarmed.

A pounding on the door caused both of them to jump.

"Shit," Phantom muttered.

By the time he dropped her hands, the warmth—which had already coursed throughout her—disappeared. Strangely, she craved more of his touch.

"Paulina? Paulina, are you okay?" Star's voice shouted from behind the door. The cheerleader sounded frantic, anxious.

"You better go," Paulina murmured.

"No need to tell me twice," Phantom replied, ignoring the pounding on the door. He flashed her an apologetic look that sent more guilt cascading into her. "We're okay, though. Right?"

"Yes, we're fine." Paulina hissed. "I accept your apology. Now go!"

Phantom smiled and pulled her into an abrupt embrace. Paulina stood there, stupefied before awkwardly patting his back.

He pulled back and smiled. In an instant, Phantom disappeared before her very eyes.

Paulina shook out of her stupor and rushed to the door. She swung it open.

Star stood there, hair frazzled and clothes disheveled from sleep. She had a wild look in her eyes and she wasted no time in storming the room.

Paulina smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't realize I'd locked the door."

Star didn't respond and, instead, analyzed the room, the wild look never leaving her gaze.

Paulina furrowed her brows and lightly touched her friend's arm. "Star, are you okay?"

Star sighed. "No. I just, uh, had a nightmare."

Paulina frowned. _Lie._

"And Valerie's blasted alarm clock woke me up, and I freakin' couldn't turn the damn thing off." She threw her hands up exasperatedly.

_Truth._

Paulina studied her friend. "Well, how about we go get ready. I've got a party to go to and I need your guys' opinion on what to wear."

"Mall?" Star began with a gleam in her eyes.

"Mall," Paulina confirmed. This seemed lift up her friend's spirits and she immediately took off, shouting at Valerie to wake up.

Paulina glanced at her window and back towards her open door. Strange. It was almost as if Star was already aware of Phantom's presence...

:~:~:~:~:~:

**A/N: And that's all.**

**Okay. If things go as planned, the chapter after the next will include more action.**

**Once again, sorry about the delay!**


	10. Stars

**A/N: A lot of info in this story (particularly the info about gemstones) was provided by the **_**amazing**_** Psychic Twins, Terry and Linda Jamison.**

**And, for those of you who don't know, they're the most documented psychics in history and were the ones who predicted the fall of the World Trade Center, aka the Twin Towers.**

**Look 'em up on YouTube. They're awesome.**

Paulina exhaled, releasing a shaky breath.

She placed a hand over her the smooth fabric that wrapped around her slim figure. "_Az__úl._"

The threads beneath her hand instantly morphed from black to blue. The color spread from the center of the dress to the rest of the outfit in a matter of milliseconds. She was grateful for the almost instantaneous effects. It saved her time.

She stepped back and shook her head. No on the blue. Now she had to decide between black and red.

A light tap on the door jerked her attention away from the dress. She snatched her hand away from the fabric, accidentally shifting it back to its original black color. "It's open," she huffed as she spun away from the mirror and turned to face her grandmother.

"_Mi amor,_" Angie's face wrinkled up into a pleased smile. "_Te ves muy guapa. _Absolutely stunning."

Paulina tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm trying to pick an outfit. What do you want?" Normally, Paulina would be more reverent when her grandmother was in a friendly mood, but she was still irritated. Who wouldn't be when their grandmother had spent most of the afternoon bad-mouthing mortals in that smug, condescending tone?

Well, Paulina had had enough of the sanctimonious woman, and she was feeling guilty at having invited Danny.

No one—human or otherwise—deserved to be treated that way, and her grandmother would undoubtedly victimize the kind, overly good-natured boy.

She texted him, explaining her discomfort but he brushed it off, stating that he made a promise and, as such, was obligated to go through with their arrangement regardless of what happened. He also proceeded to remind her that he owed her.

Paulina couldn't help but wonder, would Danny be feigning his feelings or would they be real.

Granted, she would know with just one look into his eyes.

She sighed and tossed the touch screen phone on her bed, facing her grandmother.

"Well," the grandmother responded after a moment. "I just wanted to remind you that José-"

"Screw José, _abuela._"

"Well, I'll have you know, José offered to walk over here and escort you there. He's also-"

"Danny's picking me up. In the car he got for his birthday. I'm not walking all the way over there in this outfit. Much _less _with that asshole. Danny'll be here in a little while. _Tu y papi__1_can go by yourselves. I'll meet up with you while I'm over there."

Her grandmother sighed. "Alright, whatever you want. I'll go tell your father."

And with that, Angie shuffled out the door.

Paulina modeled in front of the mirror. She had to admit, she looked good. Thanks to Valerie and Star who had chosen the tight dress.

She sighed and hooked on a pair of long silver earrings, placed on her favorite _Lapis Lazuli__2_necklace, and squeezed into a pair of silver heels.

Satisfied, she spun in front of the mirror a few times until the sound of honking caused her to jump. Her phone vibrated. It was Danny informing her that he was waiting for her outside.

She grinned and her heart lurched to a sudden stop.

She glanced at herself in the mirror. Would Danny think she looked good? What color would he favor? Would he want her to look more conservative or would he want to see her show a little bit of skin.

In fact, was this dress too skimpy for him?

She groaned, suddenly self-conscious, upset that she didn't have time to change again.

She sighed and hopped downstairs, briefly stopping to bid her sister goodbye and reminding the 'sitter that her number was on the fridge.

She smoothed out her dress before stepping out into the setting sun.

Danny looked absolutely stunning. He had dressed as she had advised. Casual, but not too casual.

A blue, plad unbuttoned shirt was draped over his smooth chest, revealing a white undershirt. A pair of jeans hung from his hips and he wore pair of black shoes. His hair was as he normally had it—tousled.

Danny's eyes were trained to the phone, and he didn't look up until Paulina stood in front of him. With heels, she was almost his height.

Danny gaped. "Paulina, y-you look-" He blushed, searching for the right word. "Beautiful." He finally commented with a smile.

Paulina grinned in relief. "Thank you."

He jumped and stepped aside, holding the door open for her. Paulina blinked. None of her dates had ever been so courteous.

She smiled as he offered his hand, helping her into the black SUV.

"Well," Danny beamed. "Here we go."

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

Danny whistled when he stepped into the party.

The exterior of the building was nothing extravagant to look at, but the interior was absolutely magnificent.

The theme was, as it read in the invitation, "Stars in the Night," and the decoration displayed it perfectly.

Each table had indigo vases that contained roses and silver star-shaped balloons. They also had dark blue drapes on the tables with glittering star-and-moon confetti laying on top of it. Several glow-in-the-dark stars of varying sizes were plastered on the wall.

The birthday girl wore a black ball gown that was embedded with diamond-looking rhinestones that glittered in the light.

Her curled, black hair was tied up into a half ponytail. Danny suspected she was sprayed with some sort of glittery liquid in her hair. A diamond necklace sat on her neck, which matched her simple diamond earrings.

She briefly rushed up to Danny and offered them a seat, uniting the duo with several other people who ate and chatted in Spanish. Nirmita kissed Paulina's cheek before rushing up into a room in the back.

She seemed to be in a hurry.

As it turned out, the interracial couple had arrived just in time to watch the _baile de sorpresa__, _or as Paulina translated, the surprise dance, in which the birthday girl danced to some well-choreographed music with a group of friends.

Apparently, it was tradition for the _quinceañera_person to pull together I performance for their guests.

For the dance, Nirmita had changed from her conservative gown to a questionably short and annoyingly bright silver dress and had switched her simple star earrings for large hoops.

Afterwards, Paulina and Danny sat down for some chocolate cake at which point the birthday girl, Nirmita, arrived to greet them.

She was very eager to meet Danny and, when she received one of his small smiles, she squealed and nudged Paulina in approval. Nirmita then urged Paulina to introduce Danny to the rest of the family.

They complied with the birthday girl's wishes.

Paulina walked around introducing Danny to all her relatives.

He bit his lips. To say she had a huge family was a big understatement.

Danny counted eleven cousins, three second cousins, and six aunts and uncles. Imagine his surprise when the Latina apologized because several other family members were unable to attend the party because they were vacationing in Panama.

Paulina finally led them to her father and grandmother. The grandmother was kind enough to him, although the elder woman kept trying to get Paulina to meet up with someone named José. His father grudgingly greeted him, but glared daggers at the teenager.

Danny shifted under the man's glare and shuddered when the man pulled him aside.

"Don't you forget: I know where you live."

Paulina broke away from the grandmother and dragged the frightened Danny away, though the hybrid could still feel Mr. Sanchez's eyes on him.

He was immensely grateful when the building's fluorescent lights turned off and were replaced by colorful neon ights that one would normally find at the club.

The DJ announced something unintelligible into the microphone and turned up the music.

Danny smiled and offered his arm to Paulina, which she happily accepted. He led her towards her group of Latin friends.

They were gathered at the corner of the building, speaking rather loudly to one another. The guys were surprisingly at ease with him, and Danny found himself getting along easily with the foreigners.

Minutes after the lights went out, people began drifting onto the dance floor.

When Paulina momentarily turned to speak with an acquaintance, a cute Hispanic girl with a pixie hair cut came and started chatting with him. He leaned against the wall and responded to her, continuing their casual conversation.

The pixie girl fiddled with her necklace and flashed him a flirtatious smile.

When Paulina approached, she had a frown on her face.

Danny stopped the conversation mid-sentence and pulled his attention to Paulina. She was absolutely breathtaking.

It had happened much too quickly for his liking, but he had developed feelings for her. He couldn't quite peg when exactly this had begun happening. Perhaps it was when she cared for him while he was struck by the Ghost Flu. Maybe it had even started when she rescued him after their odd encounter in the park. And this wasn't like when he was a freshman. Now, he was seeing beyond her beauty.

His time spent with her revealed that Paulina was authoritative, demanding, and had fiery attitude. She was also quite scary when provoked.

But, along with her fiery demeanor, he found compassion hidden in her heart. He could see the love and concern in her gentle yet unnaturally mystifying eyes.

He also knew that there was so much about her that he didn't know about, and was very much aware that she was somehow involved in supernatural things. How exactly? He didn't know, but he didn't care. He was willing to work with it.

As she moved closer to them, Danny flashed her a brilliant smile. A smile, he had very recently discovered, that usually came out only when he wanted to see her smile.

His beam caught her off guard and she briefly stopped walking.

A hesitant smile appeared on her lips before growing into a full-blown beam as she recommenced walking.

It was one of those rare smiles of hers, though he had only seen it when she was around Stephanie or at school when she was with her two diverse friends.

The fact that she finally gave one to him made him feel like he was airborne, like he was soaring.

He had to double check to make sure he wasn't literally airborne and had his feet firmly pressed to the ground.

The girl he had been speaking with huffed in annoyance as she once again mentioned that he wasn't listening to her.

Danny politely brushed her off with a half-hearted apology.

He turned to Paulina and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Do you want to dance?" He managed to call out over the music.

Paulina opened her mouth to respond but was startled when four of her aunts came rushing up behind her. They squealed, begging Paulina for photos.

Paulina quickly muttered that she'd return soon then allowed her relatives to sweep her off into the opposite direction of the dance floor. Danny disappointedly slunk back into the crowd of teenagers that he had originally been hanging out with.

"Did the fam take your girl?" Tony, one of the only two teenagers Danny recognized, loudly inquired.

Danny nodded. "Yup."

"Dude, that sucks," a guy Danny recognized as Henry muttered. He shook his head, an empathetic look gleaming in his dark eyes. "That just ain't right."

One girl, who happened to be chatting with one of the guys in their group, turned her focus to Danny. "You know," she shouted, "you and Paulina make a really cute couple."

The four boys hanging around Danny gently shoved him and pat his back in approval. They murmured in agreement and pointed out that she was a great catch and he was "one lucky bastard".

The group continued talking and hanging out. Every once in a while, a few guys would rush off to dance with their female partners before waltzing back into the groups only to trade places with another pair.

Finally, Paulina returned and snatched up the opportunity to steal Danny away.

She had rushed up to him, aqua eyes glistening with happiness when he swept her into the dancing crowd.

They danced—mostly _bachata_and _salsa—_for about forty minutes before returning to their table.

Danny was congratulated by the group of teenagers, all of whom were impressed by Danny's ability to dance.

They sat down, chatted some more, and sipped some water until an unfamiliar type of music radiated from the loud speakers.

"Reggae!" Paulina squealed, clapping her hands in excitement as she watched an influx of teens rush into the dance floor.

"Reggae?" Danny repeated, a perplexed expression flickering across his eyes.

"Yeah, _reggaetón_," Paulina explained. "It's like the Latin version of _Dirty Dancing." _She flashed Danny an apologetic smile. "Nirmita loves parties, so she'll probably take me dancing-"

"Paulina!" Nirmita squealed, bouncing up to the Latina.

"Speak of the Devil." She smirked at her escort and spun around to face the _Quinceañera_ Queen.

Paulina peered up at Danny, a questioning and hopeful gaze emanating from her eyes. "Do you mind if I…" She gestured towards the dance floor, ignoring the repeated tug on her arm.

"Go ahead," Danny beamed at Paulina. Her smile brightened. She turned and followed her younger cousin, both girls slipping into the crowded dance floor.

Paulina laughed and wrapped her arms around the cousin's neck. They swung their hips and moved their butts in perfect sync, dancing a little too close to each other.

In fact, as Danny noticed, most of the teens were dancing unusually close to each other, and one couple in particular seemed to be doing some sort of uncomfortably explicit dance moves.

No one else except Danny seemed to notice the abnormality of the dancing. If he could even call it dancing. It looked an awful lot like grinding.

The raven-haired teen cleared his throat and peeled his eyes away from the seductive Latinas who were 'dancing' with one another. He turned to peer at Tony and once again felt the urge to clear his throat. "Does, uh, this kind of dancing happen often?" He inquired to Tony who was lazily sitting beside Danny.

"Mmm? Oh, yeah." Tony admitted, hazel eyes zeroing in on the Caucasian teen. "It's really not that bad, though. It's not too much of a big deal in our community. People dance like that all the time, and it's really perfectly fine." He paused and glanced at the swaying crowd. "Well, except for them." He pointed towards the girl who was rubbing her bum on some dude's leg. "That girl's a slut and she usually gets over excited during these things. But…yeah, it's usually girls dancing with girls or, if we're lucky, the girls decide to dance with the guys."

He noticed Danny's inquisitive gaze and shrugged. "I dunno. Girls usually grind on their other girl friends or their girl relatives. I guess they don't see anything wrong with dancing with each other like that. It happens in all the parties. Girl on girl dancing." He paused and added, "In this town, unless you've got a girlfriend, you'd have to be one lucky bastard to actually get a girl to dance with you like that."

Teresa suddenly scurried by and grasped Tony's arm, pulling him towards the dance floor. "Speaking of lucky _bastardos_…" Tony muttered with a goofy grin as his girlfriend yanked his arm.

Tony grinned happily and allowed his girl to lead him to the dance floor.

Danny sighed and leaned against the wall, watching as bodies swayed to the contagious, rhythmic music of the Latinos.

He jumped at the feel of warm fingers curling around his arm.

"Dance with me?"

He blinked and peered up at Paulina who had a stunning smile planted on her face.

"Oh, um." Danny cleared his throat, suddenly bashful. "I'm…uh, I'm not sure if I know how to dance this."

Paulina shrugged. Danny noticed her smile falter slightly. "Well, it's not that different from the few American parties you've been to. You just gotta move with the music."

Danny chuckled. "Won't I embarrass you?"

"Doesn't matter if you do." Paulina's smile brightened again. Hope lit her aquamarine eyes.

Danny bit his lip. In truth, he was anxious and didn't want to make a fool of himself. He'd been to several parties and had frequently seen other teenagers dance this, but he'd never actually _danced _with anyone_. _At all.

He sighed but one look at a pleading Paulina caused all his hesitancy to vanish. "Okay."

No sooner had the words escaped his mouth, Paulina snatched him up and yanked him towards the large mass of mostly dark-haired people.

Paulina took the lead and swayed her hips, all the while keeping herself at a slight distance away from him. "Uh," Danny glanced around at the reeking mass of sweat and perfume. "I don't know how to dance this," he repeated sheepishly.

"It's not hard," Paulina stopped spinning and faced the teenager. She reached out and wrapped her slender arms around his neck. He was glad the room was dark, save for the colorful neon lights, because he felt his face flush an angry red color.

"Just loosen up. Like I said, Move with the music," she explained.

Using her free arm, Paulina took his arms and guiding his hands to her own swinging hips.

She began slowly, easing him into the rhythm until they were both in perfect harmony. Danny grinned stupidly, feeling a small sense of accomplishment as he moved with the beat of the music.

At some point, in the midst of all the dancing and excitement, Paulina hugged Danny closer to her body, pressing herself against him and pulling his hands to her slim waist. He'd unknowingly welcomed her.

They spun and she laughed happily, her hair twirling around them.

The couple lost track of time.

An infinite number of songs played, enabling the teenagers to lose themselves to each other. Paulina expertly moved with Danny and he found himself dazed by her sensuality. It was all surreal and seemed to stretch out for a long time. Like a dream that would never end.

After a long period of incessant dancing, the music changed to a style Danny recognized as _Cumbia__._

He stopped suddenly, a brilliant smile lighting his face. He panted, his forehead glistened with sweat; unbeknownst to her, she was equally as drenched with perspiration.

She didn't care.

Her fingers were tangled into his raven locks, his strong arms wrapped tight around her figure, and their bodies were crushed against each other. Not only that but, as Paulina noticed, his eyes emanated a strange, unrecognizable sensation. It resembled…adoration?

No. It was more than that. Something that was unrecognizable to Paulina.

It was strange because she had come across a variety of emotions, some of which she couldn't even have named.

Danny broke their gaze before she had a chance to further read his eyes.

"The, uh, song's over," Danny pointed out, glancing up at the departing crowd.

Noting that he wasn't moving to release her, Paulina stepped back. His hands fell to his side.

"I'm thirsty," Danny pointed out, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at the buffet table. "You, uh, want some soda?"

"Yeah, Dr. Pepper." Paulina smiled softly.

Danny chuckled and his nose scrunched up in mock disgust. "Dr. Pepper? Well, alright. It's _your_ drink."

Paulina giggled. "Oh, shut up," she replied, nudging his arm. "I'll be waiting at our table."

Danny smiled at her briefly before spinning on his heel and making a beeline towards the food.

Paulina paused, watching him depart. Her heart automatically fluttered and she blushed as she headed to their assigned table.

She plopped down in her seat, confusion emerging. She'd never felt her heart flutter like that, and she had certainly _never _asked a guy to dance with her.

She'd never let herself act so loose and carefree around a guy.

She'd never _not _cared about trying to look perfect 24/7 for a guy.

She'd never felt this nervousness and excitement with any other boy.

She had never felt these feelings before.

But, there was just one anomaly that topped them all.

When Danny had smiled at her, the feeling was...indescribable.

It was as if the whole world stopped spinning.

It was as if time had frozen in place, giving her all the time and yet no time to enjoy the radiance of the smile he had given her.

His smile caused a euphoric feeling to burst from her pounding chest.

Her stomach flipped; her heart sprinted.

She couldn't quite place it, but she suddenly craved his presence.

"So," a voice startled Paulina out of her contemplations, causing her to jump a little at the sight of her grandmother. The old woman sighed as she sat down in an empty chair beside Paulina. Her tone oozed disappointment. "You like this boy, don't you?"

Paulina blinked at her grandmother and turned to glance at Danny who had accidentally spilled some soda on the buffet table. The teen glanced around, blushed, and immediately began cleaning it off. The Latina studied him for a moment.

As she turned back to face her grandmother, she allowed her face to split into a wide smile. "Yeah, I guess I do."

"_Well, stop it,_" Angie hissed into her ear. "I don't like you hanging out with him. He's _mortal_ and your relationship will go nowhere, _de todos modos_. Look at him! He's scrawny, white, and average. You can't _develop feelings _for such a mundane creature."

Paulina snapped her head to the wrinkled woman's face. She started slightly upon meeting Angie's frightening glower.

She recovered and mirrored the bitter grandmother's expression. "_You _can't tell me how I can and can't feel. And, yeah, maybe I _am _growing feelings for him, but that's none of your business. And you…you…" Paulina screeched and slammed her fist against the table. A glass vase farther down at the end of the table shattered. Neither of the bickering women noticed. "_You _are a racist, prejudiced old woman and you're just a stupid, old elitist-"

Paulina jumped when a hand touched her shoulder, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"What's going on here?" Danny questioned from behind. The Latina sucked in a breath and struggled to maintain her emotions in check. Somewhere a few tables down, the sound of another shattering glass filled the air. This was immediately followed by cries of surprise.

Paulina rose to her feet and flashed Angie the angriest glare she could muster. She then proceeded to slip around her tight-lipped grandmother who was openly glaring at the raven-haired Fenton.

Without waiting for either of them to respond, Paulina turned and met up with Nirmita. "I'm sorry," Paulina frowned, struggling to maintain her voice steady. "I'm gonna...I have to go."

Nirmita flashed Paulina a sympathetic look. "_What did abuela do this time?_" She murmured into her ear.

"Nothing," Paulina lied. She hugged her cousin and slipped past her, dashing out the door.

It was surprisingly cold outside. So cold, in fact, that she could see her own breath.

Paulina shivered and goosebumps crawled across her arm. She glanced up at the sky, finding herself peering up at a sheet of clouds covering the usually twinkling diamonds of the night.

"Hey," Paulina turned and glanced at Danny. He flashed her a small smile as he held his jacket out for her.

Paulina smiled slightly as she accepted, slipping her arms into the sweater. Warmth immediately enveloped her, along with Danny's wonderful scent. "Sorry. I couldn't find that pink coat of yours."

"It's fine." Paulina sighed and tilted her head up to meet Danny's gaze. "Aren't you cold?"

"Not really," he admitted honestly, "I kind of like the cold anyways." He paused and smiled politely.

"Let's go for a walk," he offered, extending his hand into the direction of the sidewalk.

Paulina peered at him questioningly. "You're really not cold?"

"Nope." Danny responded, popping the 'p.'

"Okay…" Paulina glanced at him suspiciously before nodding. "Alright, let's walk. But only for a little while. I don't want you getting hypothermia."

Danny chuckled lightly as she walk ahead. He followed.

"So," he stuffed his hands into his pockets. "What happened back there?" He prodded.

"Uh…" Paulina glanced up at Danny, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Maybe it was because of finally realizing her feelings for Danny or just her mortification of causing a scene that caused the red hue to spread across her tan skin. "She just doesn't want me dating…different people."

"Different how? Like…white?" Danny glanced down at his pale hands.

"_No._" Paulina chuckled before resuming solemnity. "Just…something similar to that. It's a family thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Danny stopped and turned to face her, icy blue eyes radiating curiosity. "Is that all you guys argued about?"

"No." Paulina lowered her gaze to the floor. "I told her that I have feelings for you."

"Oh." She peered up and found Danny staring at his shoes. He chuckled, but there was no amusement in his voice. "She thought you were telling the truth."

"Well, I was," Paulina bit her lip, waiting for his reaction.

"I know…wait, what?" Danny flashed her a bewildered expression. "You…you were telling the truth?"

"Yes," Paulina took a step forward and peered up at him from beneath her long, dark lashes.

She gazed up into his eyes. She felt his breathing quicken. "I-I-um. Well…it's-I-"

Paulina dared herself to wrap her arms around his neck, a smile formed on her lips as she gazed into his eyes.

"I like you, too." He admitted, though she had already figured out the answer from gazing into his eyes. And, just like that, Danny smashed his lips against hers.

Paulina responded immediately, allowing herself to savor him. He grasped her slim waist, pulling her closer. A warm breeze suddenly swirled around them before flying upwards and to the sky.

Paulina smiled as she pulled back for air.

"Weird breeze, huh?" Danny muttered into her hair.

Paulina's smiled widened, as she knew _she_ was the source of the breeze. "Yeah. Weird."

Danny placed a finger under her chin and tilted her head up. Her smile disappeared and she found herself distracted by his soft, slightly full lips.

A grin stretched across his face and he swooped in for another kiss, which Paulina happily accepted.

_**Author's Note:**_

In any case, I just wanted to let y'all know that your reviews make me smile.

Granted, there aren't very many reviews, but still.

Also, the poem below the footnotes is a poem I read in a class and it really struck me because I related to it so much.

_**Translations:**_

_Tu y papi: _You and dad

_Lapis Lazuli:_ Apparently, according to the Psychic Twins, this stone helps enhance psychic abilities.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

_**Poem:**_

_LEGAL ALIEN_ by Pat Mora

Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural,

able to slip from "How's life?"

to "Me'stan volviendo loca,"

able to sit in a paneled office

drafting memos in smooth English,

able to order in fluent Spanish

at a Mexican restaurant,

American but hyphenated,

viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic,

perhaps inferior, definitely different,

viewed by Mexicans as alien,

(their eyes say, "You may speak

Spanish but you're not like me")

an American to Mexicans

a Mexican to Americans

a handy token

sliding back and forth

between the fringes of both worlds

by smiling by masking the discomfort

of being pre-judged Bi-laterally


	11. Bonding

Paulina sat on her bed in a cross-legged position, still reeling from the events that had taken place. She placed a hand over her tingling lips.

She sat there for what felt like a long time, just recalling the moments she had spent with Danny. They left the party at eleven and he'd taken her out for some late night ice cream.

They sat and talked. When Danny reached out to hold her hand, an elated feeling consumed her. When they kissed, it was like they were the only two people in the world.

Everything that had occurred within the too short hour they were together had caused her to completely forget about her familial issues.

He'd dropped her off at home with a departing kiss and promised to meet her the following day.

Paulina buried her face in her pillow and released a loud squeal that caused the lights in her house to momentarily flicker. She smiled and flopped onto the bed.

Once the elation passed, reality sunk in. The first thing she wanted to do was to call Star and Valerie and tell them about everything that occurred, but Star didn't like Danny. She claimed there were so many things 'not right' about him. And Valerie, well, she almost had a serious connection with him back when the two were dating.

But they were bound to find out eventually so Paulina opened her computer.

It was twelve twenty, which meant her friends were most likely still awake.

Paulina pulled up video chat and called each of them.

She called Valerie first.

Her face was flushed and there was a small cut on her neck. She had on a pair of jeans and a tight tee. Her hair was tied into a low ponytail. "Hey, Val. Uh, were you workin' out?"

Val, who was looking somewhere else besides the screen nodded. "Yeah."

"And the cut?"

Valerie glanced at Paulina. "Paper cut. I held it up too close to my neck."

"Uh-huh. Paper cut." Paulina raised a brow. "You expect me to believe that?"

Valerie shrugged. The screen moved as her friend placed the computer on the bed before plopping in front of the screen once again. "So, what'd you call for?"

"I just..." Paulina paused, biting her lip. Her hesitation was brief, but it was enough for her friend to tilt her head in confusion. 'Just rip it off like a Band-Aid,' Paulina thought. She took a breath and blurted, "I just wanted to tell you that Danny kissed me today."

Valerie raised her brows, surprised. "You like Danny? And when did this start happening?"

"I'm not sure," Paulina admitted with a sigh. "But, I really, really like him. And it almost scares me how much I want to be with him."

Valerie cocked her head to the side. She smiled. "I understand. He's a good guy, too." Valerie paused, scrutinizing her friend. Paulina must've appeared to look pretty agitated because her friend noticed. "So, what's the problem?"

"Well," Paulina clasped her hands together and twirled her thumbs around each other. "I know you guys had thing, and I-"

"What?" She blinked. "You didn't want to hurt my feelings?"

"Well, I mean, it's the girl code. No dating exes."

Valerie laughed suddenly. "Paulina, we were never _together _together. I mean, we _almost_ were, but we weren't." She grinned. "I got over him four years ago, and it was never anything serious to me. He was just cute, I liked him, then didn't, and that was it. Girl, don't stress." Valerie winked at her, still beaming. "So, tell me more about him."

"Well, he's great." Paulina smiled, obeying Val's wishes. "Patient and kind, calm and sweet. You know Stephanie likes him? She actually looks forward to hanging out with him."

Valerie smirked. "Do _you _look forward to seeing him?"

"Yeah," Paulina admitted with a blush. "He promised to stop by tomorrow, and I can't stop thinking about it."

"Aw, you've got it _bad_. I can see it in your face," Valerie chuckled. "You've gotta be careful, though. From what I remember, Sam's extremely protective of Danny. Tucker's good, though. He probably won't give you as much of a hard time, I think."

The sound of an alarm blaring snapped Valerie's gaze away from the screen. She paused. "Sorry, Paully. I've gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow, 'kay?"

"Bye, sugar pop." Paulina smiled and blew her a kiss.

"Love ya!" Valerie blew her a kiss in return before they simultaneously logged out.

Paulina then called Star and replayed the information with her other friend. She wasn't as encouraging as Valerie, although she did reluctantly admit that the duo "fit together." Paulina wasn't quite sure what the blonde meant by that but she was being honest, Paulina could tell.

The moment she logged off, Paulina crawled into her bed and, after hours of reminiscing in the feel of Danny's lips, fell asleep.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:

The morning after, Paulina found herself standing in front of her long mirror, putting on more outfits than she would at the mall.

Stephanie was sitting on the bed, beside the large heap of worn clothes that Paulina had tossed off. The little girl was patiently providing a second opinion for her older sister.

The Latina twirled in front of the mirror. "What about this one?"

"It's pretty, too."

Paulina sighed. "Stephanie, you said that about half of the outfits I wore."

"Well," Stephanie shrugged. "It's true. All pretty." She smiled a cheeky smile and bobbed her head up and down. Her curls, which were pulled up into two pigtails, bounced as she nodded eagerly. "You like him," The toddler smiled slyly. "_Mucho._"

"Yeah, I like him a lot," Paulina admitted with a small grin.

"He likes you, too." Steph pointed out as Paulina surfed through her now disorganized closet. The toddler glanced at the mountain of clothes on the bed.

"Well, I certainly hope so," Paulina commented as she studied her reflection. She sighed and muttered to herself. "I wonder how I make himfeel."

"Happy," Steph replied. Paulina twirled on her sister as she continued. "Super duper upper-ly happy. Like SUPER happy." She waved her arms dramatically.

"Uh-huh." Paulina smiled and pat her little sister's head. "And how would you know."

"Because I can see it," Stephanie replied.

Paulina furrowed her brows and bent down in front of the girl. "You what?"

Steph nodded. "When he sees you smile, his silver glow turns jellow, jellow! With a little red!"

Paulina blinked. If her sister claimed that Danny glowed silver, then yellow when he saw Paulina smile...

"He glows different colors when I smile?" Paulina beamed, processing her sister's words. "That's a neat ability you've got there, sissy."

Like a balloon that suddenly loses air, Stephanie deflated suddenly. "But is not normal. I tried to tell _'buelita Angie, _but she said only super strong witches like mommy can do that."

"What?" Paulina's mouth dropped open as she plopped down beside her sister. "You told her about your ability?"

"No, I just ask her. She don't know I can see people's Feel." Stephanie paused, her face falling. The Latina couldn't blame her. After all, seeing people's auras was not exactly a common thing for other children. No doubt, Stephanie had already come to the conclusion. The toddler glanced down at her small feet. "Paully, am I weird?"

She smiled and caressed the chubby girl's cheek. "Aw, Steph. You're not weird. You know how I know?"

"How?" Steph inquired, eyes widening as she peered up at her sister.

"Because your sister can see things, too, but I learned how to control it." Stephanie's mouth made an 'o' shape upon listening to her Paulina's explanation. "I can see when people are lying or telling the truth."

"Really?" Steph grew hopeful.

"Yup, and I've done it since I was a little girl. Just like you." She tapped Stephanie's nose and grinned. "Mom used to tell me that it was okay. Me and you, we're special."

Stephanie hugged her sister and Paulina returned the embrace. She smiled, pressing her nose against her sister's hair. The toddler's dark locks smelled like apples.

The sound of her phone bleeping pulled the sisters apart. The head cheerleader rose to her feet, pausing to glance at a text message before focusing on the toddler. "Okay, Steph. Danny says he's gonna come here soon to take me out to eat. You wanna help me put all this stuff back?"

The girl's face stretched out into the widest beam. "Okay!" She hopped out of her seat and aided in helping her sister clean up the mess.

Finally, by butting heads, they chose an outfit.

It was casual but stunning: a loose, blue blouse with silver buttons lining the back; shorts that revealed her stunning athletic legs; and a pair of old but cute, black Converse.

She ran downstairs. Stephanie trailed close behind.

"Where are you going?" The grandmother poked her head from within the kitchen. She peered into the living room, her eyes narrowed cynically. "Are you going to see that _niño mortal _again_?_"

Paulina grinned, unfazed by her grandmother's calling Danny a mortal. She lightly tossed over her shoulder the words, "Yes I am."

She heard her grandmother bickering and her sister giggling before shutting the door.

Danny was leaning against the car, gazing elsewhere. She shivered. There it was again, that elated feeling slamming into her full force.

She smiled and automatically dashed towards him. His eyes snapped to her, clear blue eyes brightening.

He surprised her by sweeping her up into his arms and pulling her into a bone-crushing hug, which she happily accepted. He pecked her on the cheek, pulling back just slightly.

The small peck caused her to feel warm all over.

As he did the previous night, he courteously opened the door for her and shut the door behind her.

He took her downtown and, during their trip, they talked. She told him about the previous night's discussion with her friends; he talked about his. According to Danny, Sam—no surprise—was opposed to their dating.

They talked about their dreams, Danny's of being an astronaut and—to the hybrid's surprise—Paulina's wanting to become a pediatrician or doctor.

The conversation shifted to their family. Danny openly discussed his family, and she talked about her father and his family.

When she asked him about the parents, ghosts, and inventions, he reacted by putting on a guarded expression and squeezing out curt replies. Apparently, the family business—ghost hunting—was a touchy subject for him. He attempted to shift the conversation to her mother, and he found out shepreferred to avoid the topic altogether.

They each silently decided to wait until their relationship had developed a bit more before prodding into unwanted business.

When they weren't talking, the duo shopped. Paulina fawned over accessories and clothes, and Danny observed, mentally recording a short list of things she liked, slowly connecting characteristics so that he had an idea of what her tastes were. For the most part, their date consisted of just walking and talking. Danny was fascinated when Paulina explained she'd lived in Guatemala for seven years, and she laughed as he ranted on about all the quirky things he'd done in his life.

Afterwards, they walked some more and Danny mustered up enough bravery to hold her hand, which she happily accepted.

Around dawn, they strolled into the cinema downtown. It was fairly large and had white walls and red pillars. Bright blue lights shaped the words, 'Century Cinema.' The interior was rather spacious and not at all crowded.

To his luck, one of the four cash registers was completely empty. Danny waltzed over to the cash register, eager to buy some food. Things didn't go as the hybrid planned. When the server returned, he dropped a small package onto the table.

"Thank you, come again." The cashier uttered out, dully.

Danny opened the small container and found a simple hot dog.

Danny raised a brow and flashed the nineteen-year-old server a befuddled look. "Uh, sir," Danny began sheepishly, "I ordered two nachos, one with jalapeños. I didn't order hot dogs."

"Sorry, buddy," the acne-faced teen replied unapologetically. "You touch the food, you keep it."

Danny furrowed his brows and flashed a glance at the three people that had gathered behind him, waiting to order. "But, I didn't touch it. The hot dogs are perfectly fine. I did pay for the nachos and they're more expensive than the hotdogs-"

"Dude," the cashier threatened, "I'm gonna call security and you can take it up with them."

Danny huffed in irritation. The people in line were beginning to murmur with equal vexation. A few of the other customers even defended Danny—demanding the waiter to "just give him the damn nachos".

"Mister," Danny tried again, "I have the receipt. It shows I bought nachos. I don't want any problems, I just wanna watch my movie-"

"What's going on?" Paulina intervened, flashing perplexed glances between the server and her partner.

"That man won't give the boy his nachos!" An irritated overweight man shouted from behind Danny.

Paulina flashed Danny a curious look, silently asking him to explain. "He gave me a hot dog," Danny showed her the food.

The Latina spun around to face the indifferent fast food man. He shrugged. "Look ma'am, you can just move along and let these other people go-"

"_Like hell I will,_" Paulina interrupted, snatching the hot dog from Danny's hands. She slammed the plastic plate onto the table. Danny blinked. The Latina's voice had taken on a dangerous edge. Her tone was threatening, angry. "My _boyfriend _paid seventeen dollars for our movie tickets and he's now paying ten eighty for our food."

The teen's face was suddenly devoid of color. Paulina leaned over the counter and tilted her head forward, gazing at the server threateningly. "Like hell I'm letting you talk to _my _guy like that. You better give us the damn nachos or I'm going to call your manager. Now do your _fucking _job before you _really _piss me off."

The people in line cheered and applauded in response. Their server jumped into action with a nod. "Right, ma'am. Uh, right away, ma'am."

"And don't forget the jalapeños!" Paulina hissed.

Danny blinked. The large man behind him leaned forward slightly. "That's quite a lady you've got there," he commented with a grin, slapping the smaller teen's shoulder in blatant approval.

Danny beamed. "That's my girl."

The teenage cashier rushed back with a tray of food, including the coke and jalapeños they ordered. "Napkins!" Paulina snapped, the waiter jumped and went to fetch her some.

"I got it," Danny grinned as he picked up their tray. Paulina leaned over Danny, he slid his free around her slim waist. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Aw," Paulina blushed. "Stop it." She nudged him lightly.

Together they walked into the movies, choosing out seats in the back that had a wonderful view of the screen. Paulina comfortably leaned against the Fenton teen and popped a nacho into her mouth.

Within an hour into the movie, Danny and Paulina were completely engrossed, as were the other viewers.

Danny started slightly when a shiver abruptly slithered across his body. He was intensely disappointed when a cloud of miniscule icicles burst from his mouth.

Paulina, having felt Danny shiver, glanced up at him. "You okay, Danny?"

"Huh?" Danny's eyes flickered to the screen then back into her clear eyes. He smiled. "Sure, I'll be right back." He slipped out of her grasp as he rose to his feet. "Just, uh goin' to the bathroom."

Paulina smiled, though it was clearly strained. "Okay."

Danny turned away from her. He frowned in irritation as he rushed out of the theater.

"Darn ghosts won't let me enjoy a freakin' movie." He rushed out the doors and slipped into the bathroom.

:~:~:~:~:~:

**A/N: Okay, I suppose writing at one am isn't the brightest idea, but it's been so long since I last updated.**

**Anyways, I tried reviewing this, but I'm physically exhausted from this long workout.**

**I'm trying out this new thing where I try to stay in shape. So far so good.**

**In any case, I apologize if any grammatical errors inconvenienced you.**

**Also, if the chapter seemed rushed to you, it probably is. It bothers me that there's more than ten chapters and there's still no action!**

**So, in order to make up for that next chap, I'm bringing in the Red Huntress.**

**Review, please?**


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